Sprained calf: 1, Jogging: 0

In this seemingly innocent run I “tweaked” my right calf, a factor I noted in my next two runs. At the time I thought it unremarkable enough that I did not mention it at all. This past Monday I tried running and after half a lap the sensation in my right calf was setting off the proverbial alarm bells. I quit at that point and today went to the clinic. The doctor did a bit of squeezing and found the magic spot, as evidenced by my face going through interesting contortions. The verdict: I had sprained my calf and even more brilliantly, kept running on it, which risked making it much worse.

He wondered if I had extended medical through work that would cover physio-therapy. I explained that I did not and he offhandedly suggested checking the Internet for a little self-help there. He then outlined some measures to take after running: stretching, icing the calf and so on. Oh, and that I was not to do any running for at least the next four weeks.

This, in a word, sucks. I guess I’ll have more time to write now.

I’ve marked Monday November 23rd on my calendar with “I can run now!” My one consolation is the doctor could have recommended six weeks but felt (literally!) that four weeks should be good.