Things going up, then coming down....evidence of the cliche.

Over the last week or so I was fighting off some sort of chest cold or something. In my day to day activities (i.e. work, school, etc.) I didn't notice it much other than feeling a bit tired. When I'd run or swim, however, I'd have a nice burning sensation from time to time in my chest. So, I took it easy last week which worked out pretty conveniently since it was a recovery week anyways.

On to this week and my cold symptoms are gone and I had a 10 miler on tap today. Thursday I put in a 5-miler @ around 7:30/mile and felt pretty good, and was anxious to get my LSD (that's long slow distance for you hippies) run in today. I chose to run on the towpath trail for a few reasons. One is the scenery, our beautiful crooked river with it's meanders, waterfowl, snakes, and turtles. Other important factors include the "soft" crushed limestone surface and the fact that it is flat; perfect for the long runs when increasing mileage. The spring weather brought many folks down to the towpath which never helps with the serenity of the run, but can be good for the ego when you see many a family out for a leisurely stroll and you run by all of them sweating profusely with water rations attached to your hips. It is an interesting quirk of human nature, and my personality, that running past walkers gives the psyche a lift.

As I set off on my run I felt a little sluggish. My legs were a bit heavy and joints a bit stiff. I figured I hadn't fully recovered from Thursday's run as I typically train at a slower pace. All would be fine, I thought, as I was taking things nice and slow today..."I'll loosen up," and I did. Throughout the run my legs still felt a bit heavy but overall I felt OK and was glad to finally rid myself of the chest cold. Then I hit mile 6 and......ouch! Mild pain in left leg and it is getting worse by the second..to the point where.....I've got to stop. What just happened??? I felt fine up until this point? Maybe a bit tired, but....

So, I stopped at the nearest tree that didn't have poison ivy roots wrapped around it and stretched a bit. As soon as I stopped running the pain subsided. I thought maybe after a short stretch I could get back to the run.

Nope.

Started running and the pain returned. So I walked. I was 4 miles from my car and 4 miles from finishing my planned run. After walking 2 miles I tried to run again.

Nope.

Sharper pain this time and I knew I wouldn't be running anywhere for at least a few days. ugh!! My self-diagnosis (it's an easy one).....another minor calf strain. Always in the left calf in which I have bad circulation and also suffer from sciatica pains and have a bad varicose vain just below my knee. Always after a long or fast workout. I need to be smarter!!!! Lesson learned: if increasing mileage then NO runs at anywhere close to race pace...at least not yet. Slow, slow, slow LSD runs when increasing mileage for me.

For all 4 miles walking back to the car and the couple mile drive home I was feeling a myriad of emotions, and none of them had any association with happiness. Not doing what you set out to do can work on the psyche in an manner that opposes running past walkers, I guess you could say.

Tonight I've been looking on the bright side of things which is something I've had to learn to do in this life, considering my personality trait of the inability to ignore the dark side. I will ride my bicycle and swim next week. Tomorrow I will be visiting the Cleveland Zoo and riding in the "bike for the earth." I am trying to pull of my first 4.0....ever. It may have happened prior to 3rd grade, but certainly not since. If I do, or even if I make the dean's list (which I plan to) I'll be announcing it to all of bloggerland. You can think of it as something like hanging a test, or better yet, a report card on the refrigerator.

Tomorrow is earth day. Hug a tree, or something.