Notes
I took this med/long run slower than usual to avoid injury.
I was anxious about this run. Winter Special Training this week meant lots of barefoot training. And to boot, my morning barefoot runs involved carrying a very heavy brick, which further stressed my calves. My right calve has been bothering me since Friday morning's 11 mile run. So I stretched and massaged the calve before today's run.
I started running down Parkway, and at almost a mile, I decided it would be best to stay off the roads for the whole run so I turned toward the D&R Canal Path on Lower Ferry Road. I still have to run about 2.5 miles to get there, and during those 2.5 miles, my left calve muscle cramped up. I had to stop and stretch it out, then once I was on the path, things felt a little better. But at mile 4, I was still uncomfortable and bordering on pain, so I considered turning around to make today an 8 mile run. I decided to go one mile further and see how things went. I could always turn on Upper Ferry Road to head back home.
Well, while testing out my calves, I came across a hurdle: the path was closed. I haven't run the path toward Lambertville in a while so didn't know. But it was completely sealed off so I decided to bush-whack and used by trail running skills to work around the closure. I ran down the incline toward the river and found a trail which led me to the other side of the path closure. I conveniently forgot I was only going to test my calve another mile, and kept running until my 7.5 mile turn-around near Washington Crossing Park.
I took things slower than usual, and tried to run the center of the path where there is more cushion than the worn-down sides of the path. That might have helped, but I wasn't looking forward to the last 2.5 miles back on the road, which have a lot of uphill running. But things went well those last few miles.
Both calves are now sore - I'm glad tomorrow is a recovery day; they need it. I don't think I am injured, I just think they are sore and overworked.