Intelligent Recovery

Sunday, May 15, 2016 · Mike Davis

Good morning! Grab a chair and some coffee. Back in early April I tore or severely strained my right MCL. Because I had experience from the previous year when I tore the left MCL, I was not crazy frustrated. I knew that if handled correctly, it would not be something that kept me sidelined for more than 2 to 3 weeks. I was fairly accurate as I was able to join the NFLR team and run the “Reds Race for a Better Community” 5 miler race in mid-April. However as I chatted about back after the race; the calf of the same leg blew on me with less than a half mile in the race. While my knee is not as strong as I would like a month later, my calf has been the more frustrating injury. My knee will take some time and attention but, running is actually beneficial for it because of the need to create blood flow to damaged area. The calf has been considerably more challenging. The week after “Reds” at “NFLR” pub run night we were doing some trail running and sure enough while the knee was okay with the run, my calf was not. After a couple miles the pain once again shot through my lower calf and the remainder of the run was a modified shuffle for me. Calf injuries are not new to me and they may in fact be the most frustrating injury I have had to deal with. That night I proclaimed that I was shutting down running until I relocated to North Carolina thus giving the calf a few weeks of recovery. That was not easy as I hate watching others run while I hang on the sidelines. Good to my plan I did not run my remaining few weeks in New Hampshire. The timing was actually good as I had oral surgery during that time and I was not allowed to do any working out during the recovery week. On May 6th I was now in North Carolina and ready to begin running again! The calf felt fine those last ten or so days, so those recovery days made a difference. Suffice to say, I was eager to begin running again and yet I knew that I needed to proceed wisely. My first run would be an easy 30 minute run that would accomplish a few things. One; not push the calf, two; build up strength in my knee and three; get use to running in a different climate. A simple 30 minute run. We have a trail behind our house that has the option to jump off at the .20 mile point or to continue on for another .60 miles and then get on to a road. Not being completely familiar with the particulars I just followed both paths and then proceeded to run on some rolling hills. As I said my plan was to run 30 minutes so I only wanted to run 15 minutes and then turnaround and reverse my route. Things were going as planned until I was just about ready to make the half-way turn and my calf shot that familiar pain! Ugh!!! All the rest I gave my stupid calf and I was no better than I had been when I finished running ‘Reds’! The walk back while not particularly far was not fun neither physically nor mentally. As I semi-limped back I evaluated my circumstances and determined a couple mistakes. The first being that I stupidly thought resting the calf was all it needed and the second was running on a hilly route my first time out. Any physical therapist would have told me that while I was taking downtime I also should have been doing some calf exercises and stretches. Do nothing may have repaired some of the tears in the calf tendons but, the strain would not just go away. I know better but, can also be lazy. Back to the drawing board. After some discussion with my wife and a suggestion that I wear a compression sleeve next time out, I was not determined to proceed with the ‘intelligence’ that we coach our ‘NFLR’ Runners. Patience and preparation. Three days later I was ready to start at it again. This time I was upstairs foam rolling not only the normal parts of my body but also the calf considerably. After foam rolling I did some calf stretches as well. Off I went for another 30 minute run but this time I would leave the trail early and stay on the flatter course. I felt okay until the 20 minute mark when I could feel the calf tightening so I immediately started walking. Thankfully it was only tight and not as painful as previously. The following day I decided to do some additional stretching of the calf and I had to actually admonish myself for having not been doing that all along! Thursday I went out with pretty much the same routine and this time the tightness came a little earlier so I walked a bit and then actually ran some more. I was able to actually run more than previously despite having had to walk sooner. Again I did some calf stretching Friday but, nothing else. Yesterday I did my foam rolling and stretching and then off for my 30 minutes of whatever it would be. I could feel some slight tightness in the calf for most of the run but, I was able to run for 30 minutes without needing to walk! Thirty minutes is not anything special for most runners but I will tell you I was one happy runner! My walk back to our house was beautiful and it gave me some additional time to reflect on what I had accomplished and why it matters. I know how to reign in our ‘NFLR’ runners but, I often do not know how to reign in myself. Times like these are good for me as a runner and a coach so all is not lost while I go through the injury recovery process. You can bet I will be stretching my calf every day and running ‘intelligently’ as I proceed. Time to get ready for church. Enjoy your Sunday and I’ll catch you later! God Bless! Mike