Run, Forest! Run!

I am thrilled to report that, after injuring myself two weeks into joining Nike Run Club L.A. with J and CL, I’ve resumed running with the club. Whee! I'm so relieved. I wasn’t sure how long a strained muscle would take to heal, and after a week had come and gone with little improvement in my right calf, I'd become despondent and downright pissy. Joining these runs had turned out to be more fun than I'd guessed it would, and I was so frustrated and disappointed to have to temporarily drop out after doing only three of them.

I'm quite sure the problem stemmed from my jogging in place on the balls of my feet at stoplights during both the Santa Monica and Beverly Hills runs. As I was doing it, in fact, my calves were uncomfortable and felt as if they were "balling up," so to speak, but I was under the impression that coming to a dead stop at intersections would cause my muscles to tighten, which in turn might lead to injury. So, I jogged in place, and found myself barely able to walk in the days following my third run. Grrr. It couldn't have helped that I continued wearing shoes with high heels to work, which didn't allow my calves to stretch and relax during the workday.

What's especially funny is that when I mentioned to CL that I believed the jogging in place was responsible for my injury, she was like, "Yeah, I think people who jog in place while waiting to cross intersections look really dorky, actually. So I don’t do it." Hee. Well, considering I am indeed a big dork (in an endearing way, I hope), it didn’t surprise me that I'd been doing something that wasn't just a strain on my muscles, but a silly-looking maneuver to boot.

My reintroduction to the club runs took place this past Saturday morning, at the obscenely early hour of 8 a.m. In the few days prior, I'd felt that my calves were finally healing, so I was eager to get back out on the pavement. While J and CL joined the 11-minute-mile five-milers, I humbly took my place among the 12-minute-mile three-milers. Fine with me; I was just happy to be out there.

The run was great! Leisurely, relaxed, mildly hilly, and quiet, save the one guy in my group who yapped at an inordinately high volume to another runner throughout the duration of the run. Did you know this particular gentleman plans to have one million dollars in the bank by his forty-fourth birthday? I do, and so does the entire Ladera neighborhood around which we ran, because this guy’s pie hole was going at maximum volume for the full 36 minutes of our run. Honestly, there’s one in every pack of runners, you know? The guy who talks about himself through the whole thing, really loudly?

Afterward, the Starbucks with which Nike contracts for this particular run gave out free coffee drinks (any kind we wanted!), bagels, croissants (my high-carb baked good of choice), and assorted fruit breads. Mmm.

It's been 36 hours since that run, and my calves feel pretty good! So I think I'm back in the game and on-track to run the Montrose, PA 5K on July 5. Yeah!