So this recent marathon was the fifth for my bride and I. For each preceding marathon, spread out across the past 7 years or so, we've adopted the following "recovery program". Stop running for about the next 6 months and then start from scratch in August. I'm quite sure that if you consult with folks "in the know" they'd probably disagree with this approach. I even disagree with it. In fact, even though we didn't run last year's marathon (we volunteered at the finish line) we managed to keep in shape by actually running throughout the year. A new Garmin 305 and iPod nano helped keep to an actual running program.

So this year was going to be different. M plus 6 days, also known as the Saturday after the marathon, C had to go to a class. It was a beautiful crisp morning in Austin, somewhere around 45 - 50 degrees at 8:00 am. I decided to go for a run. My legs were no longer sore, aided by that dip in Barton Springs last Sunday after the run, and a massage, and 6 days of rest. So I felt a nice easy run would be in order. I had never heard about this whole "Don't run for two weeks" thing. So I mapped out a nice 8 mile run on MapMyRun, and headed out the door.

The weather was so great that I wasn't really paying attention to my pace. Eventually I looked down at my 305 and saw I was clipping right along (slightly uphill) at around a 7:30/mi pace. Oh sure, I was breathing a little heavy, but I got quite the adrenaline boost by seeing that pace. NOTE: this is indeed fast for me, as my marathon, a PR, was just over my 8:30/mi training pace. So I continued on, gradually climbing the hilly neighborhood, cresting Convict Hill, and heading out for a nice downhill just past mile 2.

A funny thing happened to me on the way to mile 3, I began to feel a slight knot in the back of my right calf. GAH! What's with that? This is a downhill, its still cool outside, and I'm not even really breathing hard anymore. Why is my calf hurting? So I pulled off around mile 3 and proceeded to do a little stretching to help things out. Then I was back on my way.

I'll admit that when I run, even with my iPod playing, I spend a lot of time "in my head". So it's not really fun to run when I keep thinking "I wonder how bad my calf is gonna get" and "This really sucks". But at mile 4 I decided to take one more "stretch break" and then stick with my route and take the 1 mile loop around the park. There were folks with dogs, some other runners, and it was a great morning to be runnin through the shade from the trees. It was here that I began to "audible" my daily run route.

The exit from the park was across the street from another greenbelt that would eventually lead past the end of my street. So I abandoned any hope of doing 8 today, and proceeded on home. Of course once you fall for the "safety valve" your leg begins to feel better, but by now I was having visions of fresh coff-ay in my head and there was no turning back. I finished off with a run of about 5 1/2 miles with an 8:05 pace and a calf that would preclude me from running again any time soon.

Except that the next day I went down to Austin Fit for our final "group run" and we logged about 2 1/2 miles around Town Lake (Ok - Lady Bird Lake - whatever) and the whole time I was thinking "GAH! - What's with my leg".