Kind of a Real Post. Sort of. Not Really.

I am writing a post today not because I have anything interesting to talk about, but because I am frustrated & looking to take out my frustration on someone/thing. Currently the closest one/thing is the internet so there you are.

I had a great week of running last week, and even a great (well, mostly) Tuesday track run this week. But since then, I haven't been able to run at all. Not even a little bit. Not shin splints this time; no, this time there is this tiny spot on the upper, outside part of my calf muscle that hurts like a BITCH when I put any pressure on the ball of my foot at all. Like, walking to & from my job five blocks from home today was extremely unpleasant. Before you ask, I am not limping, as there is no way to limp that avoids the pain.



The pain goes away as soon as I take pressure off my foot. It's worse with running (I tried running a little on both Wednesday and Thursday and only got about a quarter mile and one mile respectively before I knew it was officially a Bad Idea), and was worse for the ten minutes or so following each brief attempt at running. I've never had this kind of problem before, so I'm a little at a loss. Of course I have been googling "calf pain gastrocnemius running" & attempting to self-diagnose myself like any self-respecting denizen of the 21st century, but so far nothing sounds right. There was no "injury event" or specific point in time where the pain started or where I felt or heard anything weird. The pain is bad, but not excruciating, and present even when I'm just walking, which seems to eliminate most of the usual suspects. The only thing I can think of that even remotely makes sense is that it's just a very minor calf strain (apparently pronation is a common cause, so there's that).

There is a certain type of pain (I'm sure you know it) that, even if it's not terribly severe, is like a red flag to runners. Something that lets you know in no uncertain terms that whatever's wrong isn't a big deal now, but if you push it, it's likely to become one. So, for the time being, I'm trying to stay off of it as much as I can and hoping that a few days of complete rest (no running or karate & minimal walking) will let it heal, instead of continuing to try to run, even a little, & having it drag out for weeks (or become something more serious). As you can imagine, this is more than a little maddening.

That is all. I am off to stuff my face with this



which I made last night during the time when I normally would have been running. Which is of course exactly what you should do when you can't run for some reason. Obviously.