Yet another 3 miles, today on the treadmill. It was really a rough go! My calves stiffened up right away (they’re still so sore, arrrgh) so the first two miles turned into run-hobble-walk-run-hobble-walk… But once I hit mile 3 they finally loosened up and I burned through the last mile. This calf soreness is really killing me, and I’m not sure what a long-term solution is. Short term, I need to get new shoes (shoe store hasn’t called, I need to check back with them), keep stretching, and give my poor calves a break. Long term? I think I need to fix my stride. My natural tendency (especially in ye olde barefoote shoes) is to run with springy calves– letting them do most of the work while the rest of my legs are along for the ride. Alas, that is not sustainable. If I run with the strength of the rest of my legs, those big muscles that can take a long-term beating, it feels like I’m twisting my torso a lot and reaching forward with my hips and it’s sort of awkward. Maybe there’s a middle ground.
In a desperate effort to keep the backs of my legs from tightening up again, I’ve propped my monitor and keyboard up on a copy-paper box to make an ad-hoc standing desk. Oddly enough, it works okay– it’s just the right height.
Running While Fat 