One week to go

So, what was a small nagging pain in my left calf has developed into a huge nagging pain.

Weirdly, it didn't feel too bad on Thursday, the day after the run, but I think the mistake I made was wearing flip flops in the rain on Friday.

I say rain. It was torrential. Complete with thunder and lightning and floods on the streets of Soho. (Okay, so maybe it wasn't the apocalypse, but compared with the arid months of April and May, it was very wet.)

The thing with flip flops is they're hard work to keep on your feet anyway. Add in a few inches of water and they're wriggling about like a couple of flounders. I think struggling to ensure they weren't washed away put a lot of pressure on my already slightly sore lower limbs and I fear it was this that did the damage. (I should add it was lovely and sunny when I left for work and I was optimistic it would remain so. It didn't.)

By Friday evening, I was in real pain and had a distinct limp. When I got home and assumed a yogic position to inspect the area (behind my ankle and up the back of my calf) I found it tender and swollen.

I immediately texted my physio (i.e. my friend) a detailed outline of the problem and she identified the sore area as the tibialis posterior and feared it might be tendonitis. Obviously, I googled this and my symptoms do seem to correlate. However, my left sock was rubbing under my forefoot like a b*stard on Wednesday so I was running a little awkwardly. I'm hoping that it's this that has caused the injury and that it's a temporary state of affairs.

In line with recommended expert advice (from my friend) I have rested all weekend, dosed myself up with anti-inflammatories and been liberally applying an ice-pack to the area. And I'm relieved to report it's already improving. Just as well as this time next week I will be mid-half-marathon. In fact, If things are going according to plan I should only have half an hour to go.

Right now, there's a question mark over the time thing. But I'm optimistic my leg will be well enough to run. Because, of course, my optimism on the weather-front worked out brilliantly.

(Pic: My sore leg with biro graffiti highlighting the affected area.)