Achilles Help
Last saturday during my brick run both of my calves got very tight. The next day I did my hour long run and my left calf/achilles seemed a litte sore afterwards. I stretched took my day off and after having more calf Pain I decided to take tuesday off as well. When I woke up to run this morning everythign felt good but after the run my achilles seems to still be a little sore and tight .
I am not very familiar with achilles problems and was wondering if this is something that I should take another couple days off from training or it will be ok to run or ride with? What should I be doing to help its recovery? any advice would help since im used to leg muscle issues from Track but the achilles is a new one for me 
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So sorry to hear the Achilles is still sore. You are smart to reach out for help. At this stage it is acute( brand new) and treatable. If I were you I would not run until painfeee. Have you done any massage work to your calf? Stretched the calf muscles( there are 2)? Have you iced, worn compression?
Need to attack this right away.
I would be icing like mad try 10-15 minutes every few hours. Then roll it out with TP kit and get a massage to the area. Do you need new shoes? Are you running too fast for your zones? Need to watch that closely as it will come back to bite you.
I would still ride if it does not hurt. Pain is your guide. You can always pool run until the pain is gone. Once pain subsides you can start eccentric calf strengthening exercises. ( lowering yourself down a step, forfoot on step drop heel slowly then let other leg raise you back up and repeat.
Hope that helps,
Carrie
I will avoid running maybe head to the pool instead. I will get on the bike and see how it react. If that causes it to act up I might just have to take some time to work on swim form and pool running. I dont want to a minor injury into a lost season =(
Thanks for the suggestions. I can ice it and massage. However TP set is still on teh christmas list =( and continue to stretch it.
In the mean time till xmas and that TP set- lots of ways you can work on this.
for some stretching ideas to help isolate both calf muscles check out this thread from the old forums
http://www.endurancenation.us/en_fo...php?t=5853
(p.s. you might need to log in at the top if it doesn't let you see it)
other ways to help:
1) pool run as a substitute for your land runs. you can still do your intervals. just wear an HR strap and shoot for 10-15 bpm below your threshold HR. it's tough! but will maintain any and all fitness, as well as, be a kick as workout.
2) slide the cleats back on your bike shoes and drop your bike seat a hair (like a cm or so, nothing too big). This will help unload the calf muscle and let it heal.
3) if you don't have compression socks or anything like that. Hit the drug store and see if they have any "surgical stockings". technically they're for preventing blood clots but they're a cheap and easy to find alternative.
Fire away with questions and keep us posted.
You should be able to get your calf fully on the smaller roller. Unless you've got a crazy strong calf and then it might a little tight but still manageable. I skip the block personally. Roller (and this can be a foam roller as well) on the floor and both legs out straight in front of me. I position the roller midway on one calf, plop my other leg on top of it, and then lift my butt/legs off the floor with both hands. From there, I roll back + forth over the roller. If I find a sore spot, I stay on it and move my leg side to side. Can be REALLY sore so go easy. Then I continue rolling and as I do I rotate my lower leg so I can get the outside and inside of the calf as well. Does that make sense??
Vince
I am staying off it even on the bike today and massaging and stretching it out at work depsite my coworkers odd looks haha.
Hope to have positive news in afew days! atleast its just sore not painful!
(I sure do hope santa brings me a TP set ... it hurts so good)
Personally, I find that the bike tends to cook my calves quicker and as a result, carries over to my run. Lots of threshold work means we're muscleing through as much as we can to get through the intervals. starting a mile repeat type run on tight calves can be a tough lead in. To counteract that I do most of my stretch/foam roll/trigger point type work the nights of the big bikes. make sure everything is loose before the runs. Then I try to relax those nights and just gentle stretching.
Thank you Leigh! I've been having some nagging calf issues and after taking a lot of time off running with little improvement, I've begun to think that maybe the biking is the real issue. I'm gonna lower my seat a tad and try rolling/stretching after rides (I do it after runs, but never thought to do it after riding). This has been a very helpful thread!
Nemo, I've been having lots of success with my tri-patients in altering their cleat position. I know that the general bike fit consensus is to keep the cleats forward and to make you use your calves, but we're different than cyclists. Ss the legs fatigue you tend to stay up on your toes and with the run volume, it can cook us way more than the run itself. Try moving your cleats back a bit and drop your seat the same amount (yup, that means we're moving things in mm). works like a champ, and you may even see a power boost.
Leigh,
Great advice. Last time I did really heavy leg presses I did not want to push with my toes but instead mid to posterior foot.
Moving the cleats back takes the gastroc/soleus complex out of the picture a little and therefore they become less of a liability. I read an article sometime ago about redrilling shoes and moving the cleat to nearly mid-foot in an attempt to eliminate the lower leg. Some reports were good but I would imagine it was odd feeling to ride like that. I've moved mine toward the heel somewhat and will continue to work them further during the OS...along with lowering my seat somewhat to compensate.
When I stand I like to have some plantar motion with the calves as it feels more athletic but sitting I don't need to engage them as much and feel comfortable just working the upper leg moreso.
Vince
Nemo- you'll have to keep me posted!!
I've talked to lots of bike fitters over the years and no one was ever able to really give me a clear answer on why the cleats were "supposed to go there" other than that's how they were taught. anatomically it just makes sense that that won't work as well for runner with tight ankles as it will for the pure cyclists. sets up the tri-peeps for shin splints, calf problems and loads of foot issues.
Phil- hope the bike fit helps!! might not be night and day on your next ride but you should notice some changes over the next few weeks for sure.
It has yet to hurt but gets pretty tight. i stretched it some after each of my mile repeats. I guess I should take some more time off....
As we speak I am icing it COLD!!!! and I got some of the CVS compression dress socks ( all i could find) to wear and am going to hit this thing as hard as i can now and try to not have my Buffalo Springs HIM(my first) be a out of shape walk fest =( Thats still like 6 months away though... I should be able to get into decent shape... Another little stint off wont hurt THAT bad right?
You guys helped alot!
Though I do have one more question. I got a pair of compression sleeves for my calf and was wondering how tight they are supposed to be? They dont feel as tight as my socks and i have the smallest pair. i doubt my calves are that small!