Ouch...again.

Monday, January 14, 2013

I had a nice plan for a double.  I went to the park for a 30-minute run, which I intended to back up with an hour on the trainer.  I’d been thinking about riding outside, but temps in the low 30’s and frozen toes discouraged that notion.  I leaned into the car to do a calf stretch…something I rarely do before running…and held it for about three minutes.  My calves were extremely tight and the stretch felt good, but they just never seemed to loosen up.

I headed into the run stiff-legged.  I could feel the pain in my left achilles…that was nothing new…but my right was hurting a little higher and into the lower calf.  I’d been running about 17 minutes when I felt it pop.

Oh…the joys of being me when trying to work out.  And yet, am I so different?  I watched playoff football over the weekend and am amazed at the grace and athleticism of these highly trained and skilled professional athletes.  They look effortless in their movements, fluid and without pain.  But who am I kidding?  Every player on every team is hurting…or will be at the game’s conclusion.  The one’s seriously injured are on the sidelines…the rest are in the game and living with some pain and discomfort because that’s what they do. 

So…although something seems to hurt on every workout, I continue on.  When I consider the alternative, there really is no choice for me.  The less you do, the less you can do.  I won’t have that.  I walked for about ten minutes then began a slow jog back to the car.  I was outside, moving and sweating.  Life really is good…it hurts some…but it’s good.

Run duration:  25 minutes.

Training Heart Rate:  130 bpm.

Calories burned:  375.