Not feeling it

My calf, that is.

I felt up for an early-morning run today and that's exactly what I did. I got up really early (not by choice) and instantly knew that I would go on a run later in the morning. So at about 5:30, after I'd been up for about an hour, I got my stuff together, stretched and ran.

Now I hadn't gone on a run since Saturday. I think I had a calf strain and while I still felt it yesterday I figured I'd better get up and run. I was worried that my calf strain would turn into a vaginal strain and since I'm not a pussy I figured I needed to run.

It actually felt great. Everything about the run felt great. It was nice to put my comfy running shoes on again. It was good to stretch and have that feeling I get when I'm stretching about the upcoming workout/run/exercise. It felt good to step outside in the brisk early-morning air. It felt good to take my first few paces and to get into a rhythm.

Careful, you might become a runner.

But really, though, aren't I one already? Okay, I'd venture to say no but only runners get up before 5 and get out on a run before 6, don't they?

Actually, I know that I haven't put in the time and effort and just outright miles to call myself a runner. There are still parts of it that I don't like and I don't think runners face the same mental obstacles I do. But I'm beginning to think that it's not so much that I don't like them because they make me uncomfortable but rather because they are strange to me. It still seems a bit strange for me to do nothing but run for 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes, whatever. So I think I deal with that negatively through dislike. I need to embrace the time and prepare myself mentally for running.

I think I did that a little this morning. I didn't think about taking shortcuts or that I'd rather do something else. I just relaxed mentally while exerting a lot of physical energy and listened to some soothing tunes, in this case Black Stone Cherry.

So now I'm showered, my calf isn't bothering me in the least and I feel good physically and mentally about my run.

Injuries be damned!