TEMPE, ARIZONA
We have done this race for years now. It is a good 10k. I was feeling pretty good. I had injured my right calf and had to lay off running for a few days. My right calf felt back to normal. The race started and within 100 yards my right calf felt like it was going to cramp. It threatened, but I was able to continue running. although my calf did not cramp, it was tightening and started to shorten my stride and ability to run. I thought it was just still sore and I could run it out. In the past I have had issues like this where I just continued to run and it went away. Mile after mile it never went away. It was slowing me but the pain was not unbearable so I continued. My time wasn’t horrible, but not where I would have liked it to be.
In my training schedule I needed to get in a long run today to prepare for the half marathon I have coming up in 2 weeks. I wanted to run at least 9 miles today. I had planned on running the 10k and then continuing to run the 5k course for some extra mileage. My calf was still bothering me but I figured it had lasted 6 miles and I really need to get in a long run, so I continued to run the 5K course. As I neared the finish again I felt good about pushing through and getting the distance in. It gave me a sense of confidence knowing I had put a long run in. I knew I would be able to finish the half marathon now.
When I stopped running, my calf tightened within a few steps until I wasn’t able to walk normally. I had brought my ice packs and I put those on and tried to stretch it. To make a long story short, I spent the rest of the day on the couch with a heating pad strapped to my leg with belts and was unable to help Lori all day in taking down the Christmas decorations.
