Look! A Healthy Non-Complaining Calf!
So I headed out on a slow run to see how my calf held up. I decided to run in my Asics rather than the VFFs, with a goal of stressing my calf out as little as possible. I did run with a forefoot/midfoot strike rather than a heel strike. The good news? The calf held up just fine – no complaints from it at all! I did stretch after a half mile warm up, as well as half way through the run. It didn’t feel bad, but thought it was a good preventative measure. I also stretched that good, health calf when I got home.
The run itself? Honestly, it wasn’t all that enjoyable. It seems my cardio abilities have faded in the last three weeks, though I know that will return quickly. I also started off behind a cigar smoking man walking down the side-walk – its amazing how long THAT smell stays with you! Took me half a block to figure out what the smell was!
Anyway, back to my whining. So the run wasn’t as enjoyable as many of them have been. I ran in my Asics, and the feeling of my foot hitting the ground simply isn’t as enjoyable. I know that those in the “church of the barefoot runner” (read that name on a Podiatry Forum) refer to shoes as “foot-coffins” and I really felt that way today. To quote “Barefoot Kenbob” – it was like singing with earplugs in. I suspect I was also dehydrated, didnt’ sleep well, etc.. etc… Lots of things came together to make this a really not-fun run. I even walked at several portions of the last two miles, figuring better to hurt myself when I wasn’t “feeling-it.” I am hoping that anyone that knows me passed me while I was running, not walking.
Still despite not feeling like the best run in the world, I am still glad I went. I knew starting back into running after 3 weeks off (well, 2 weeks, plus 1 running day, and a week before that) wasn’t going to be easy on the lungs and legs – but I really expected more “fun.” Think I will pull the Vibrams on for tomorrows run. Its simply more fun.
I run, because I am a runner. Having realized that I have always "been a runner" - even when I went years with out running, I am learning how it has integrated itself in all aspects of my life. When I started running in highschool, my perspective on life changed. Funny that I didn't realize how much it had affected it until just recently.
Once and Future Runner 
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