Argh!!!

Monday I returned to running again. In fact, I had a phenomenal run on Monday. I ran faster than I have all year. And I felt great. What a surprisingly good Monday!

Wednesday was a great beginning. I started my warm-up. The guy I've been running with, more or less, never warms up. He jumps on the treadmill and cranks it up to his top speed. Then he just runs at that speed for 3 miles. Wa-la, he's done. I have this long, careful process I always go through where I slowly build up speed, from fast walking to a jog to finally working my way up to my actual intended speed.

Ah, but not today. Today I felt great. Especially after Monday's awesome run. So today I jumped on my treadmill and started walking. The other guy jumped on his treadmill and cranked up the motor, running flat out. I rapidly skipped past the fast walking to a slow run. But I was bumping up against the handle already. This was too slow.

So I sped up. I sped up to the top speed I ran on Monday. Yay me. This was going well!

I ran at a good solid speed for 1.33 miles. I felt great. A little stiff, but mostly great.

Then my calf pulled.

Oh no, not the left calf, the calf I've injured and reinjured over and over. No, this was the right calf. This was the only calf I have been able to rely on year after year while the left calf was a constant problem.

As soon as I felt the pain I leaped off the treadmill. I stretched and limped around the gym. I stretched some more. I used the rollers on a lower back machine to work my calf like a massage roller. I stretched some more. No good. It's hurt.

Dammit.