Losing Faith, Staying Positive

This calf has really got me down! I can't believe how much I am suffering as a result of what seemed to be just a simple calf cramp that hit near the end of my long run a couple of Sundays ago. In fact, I am starting to doubt whether it is a cramp induced thing at all and wonder if I have some serious muscle damage going on. Naturally, my 30k race this coming weekend is in major jeopardy and I would be pressed to walk 3k at this point let alone get through ten times that distance.

I tried my best to stay off my leg all weekend and used a variety of icing and heat, as well as anti-inflammatory creams, to treat this issue. Each morning I'd wake up and cautiously step on my leg to find that the pain was not as bad as the night before, but within minutes the thing would tighten up and I'd be back to hobbling again. It hurts like a Mo-Fo to walk!

With all of that in mind I am keeping positive about the whole situation. After all, this is the risk one "runs" when signing up for races in advance. I also have that physio appointment for Wednesday morning (which was for my plantar fasciitis, but now will involve this problem for sho!) and I lucked into making another massage therapy appointment for right afterward. I am not actually holding out hope that I will be able to run, but stranger things have happened.

Speaking of stranger things I read Bart Yasso's My Life on the Run this weekend. I picked it up at the same time that I grabbed Chi Running. This was a super easy read and pretty entertaining. Bart Yasso has been through a lot of interesting runs throughout his life, and (spoil alert! spoil alert!) to read about his battle with Lyme disease and how it has pretty much ended his running career I count myself lucky because I know this calf issue will eventually get better and I'll be back on the road. Anyway, this was a good short read which I recommend. If it only took me two evenings to finish this book then most will blow through it over lunch given that I am the world's slowest reader.

On the Chi Running front, I have also read that book pretty extensively (can you tell I was on my ass all weekend?) and will give this a good go over the next weeks, months, years. The Chi Running philosophy speaks to me and makes sense on many levels. Specifically, I like that the focus in this technique is on the process and not the result. I think it will require significant concentration to do it right and will likely stop me from reading my Garmin every ten seconds, as I am want to do, thereby preventing me from pushing myself too much and ignoring my body. If one is to learn the Chi Running technique one must be very in tune with one's body, and I am a prime candidate for this much needed lesson. Also, I know a local running store has a guy who holds Chi Running clinics and I might consider taking this approach once I've had a chance to recover and digest the book a bit more. There are many exercises that one has to do before venturing out onto the roads, so I am a long way from the end (if there is an end, that is).

Now, back to healing...