I injured myself.

About a year ago I ran too hard when I was trying to transition into a new style running shoe.  It’s a style that is supposed to guide the runner ro run on their forefoot.  I already do that and at the time I have been already running like that for years.  I got all ahead of myself and ran super far, for me at least, on the shoes every other day for a few weeks, I did not build up the muscles in my leg.  What happened is I pulled a muscled in my calf.  Bummer.  I chilled out, I relaxed and healed.

Recently I have been working on running in and sometimes writing about my experiences with the New Balance 101 minimal trail shoes.  Honestly, I could just stop the review right now and say they are without a doubt the best pair of running shoes I have ever run in but I still do want to write about them once they die.  Like the biography of a pair of my favorite shoes.  That’d be fun.  I’m rambling, anyway, what happened is that he shoes are just so awesome to run in that they completely bring me back to the “Holy shit running is so damn fun” running zone.

I have been running trails pretty steadily for the past little while and having best time I’ve had in I can’t even remember how long.  As I have previously written I don’t usually run with a watch so I don’t really know how long I take or how far I go.  When I have plans later in the day I take a watch, I don’t want to be a flakey runner.  But for the most part I don’t.  The past 2 runs I have gone way farther than I usually do.  I basically did a distance day, I’m assuming somewhere between 8 and 10 miles, went and rode some hills on my bike the next day, and the next day after that did another distance running day, about a mile shorter than the first.  I need to not do that.  I forget to let my body heal after I push for a day.  I should have dome a short day the day after the ride but no, my excitement got the best of me and I ran too far.

So now I agitated that old injury in my calf.  Poopy.  That would be the official Dr. Pat psychological term for how I feel.  Poopy.  I can walk on it no problem so it’s not horrible but it is swollen.  My left calf is visually, at least is was yesterday and the day before, a little bigger than my right.  I’m all weird and self conscious about it.  As if anyone else notices anyway.  It’s not really that bad, it’s just my body telling me to chill the fuck out and show some respect for the muscles and tendons I have worked so hard to strengthen.

My brain and excitement gets so far ahead of my body sometimes that this is what happens.  Yes I want to run up mountains and hell yes I will be able to but I need to work up to it.  I need to train if I want to go far, I can’t just get up and do it out of no where.  As much as I want to make it to the top of the mountain now I have learned this here lesson and I plan on working up to the top slowly.  Maybe like one good strong distance day a week or something like that.