Fri 1/27 - PM 35 minutes easy

Fresh Pond with a modest side excursion to Danehy Park. Left calf swollen from all the poking and prodding post-run yesterday. Marginally better than yesterday but that's not saying much. As such the only appropriate venue for any kind of running, even a jog, is flat pavement. Both calves tight as drums, stretched them out at least a half dozen times during the course of the day, with a couple of stretch breaks during the run to boot. Feels like I could stretch them a few dozen times and they'd still be too tight. To add to the fun the rain that had subsided by mid-afternoon got going again just as I was starting out, dismal conditions.

Thu 1/26 - PM 40 minutes easy

Lincoln Woods. Infuriating failure, yet another miscalculation/setback with the fucking calf. This is starting to get into the same ugly compulsive territory as the hip travails of '09 with the endless scab-picking, although then I knew going in the kind of damage I was doing running on the thing. With this I have no idea until it goes on me. In this case, felt a tight knot in the calf at the end of the work day, figured it would loosen up if I started out slowly, it didn't of course. Then I felt it strain on a modest grade but with slippery footing to make it worse. Stopped to poke and prod at it for a few minutes, turned back for the road. Once there, found that anything resembling a hill stretched the muscle to its limit, decided to take the shortest, flattest route back to the car. Alas there is no truly flat terrain back there, and it didn't take much in the way of slope to aggravate the leg. By the end I was gingerly walking up the last few rises to avoid catastrophe. Trails muddy but in better shape than the ones I ran on yesterday. Although the last two days' runs of course led directly to this nonsense today. Got home and immediately set to crushing the calf with the lax ball, then the butt end of the massage stick which got more focused pressure. Then the ice pack, again. Back to square one, again.

Wed 1/25 - PM 70 minutes

Area 51. Somewhat more snow here than in Lincoln, esp. given that another day has passed since it fell. Slow going in places to avoid slipping on icy patches, brilliant choice of route for the calf of course. Track road in particular was borderline hockey rink, had flashbacks to the infamous groin strain of March '09. This time I stopped and walked when necessary. Can't stay away from the trails though when they're the least bit accessible. Moving much quicker on the sections of clear pavement. High temps above freezing, as has become usual for this winter.

Tue 1/24 - PM 75 minutes

Lincoln woods. Calf felt much better during the day at work after yesterday's massage, but the knot reasserted itself once I got out on the trails. They were of course a sloppy mess after last night's rain on top the weekend snow. Conditions hardly favorable for the calf, not that I much care at this point.

Mon 1/23 - 30 minutes very easy

Dismal jog in dismal chill overcast. Left calf stuck from yesterday's folly, not that I even tried to run fast yesterday. Went directly from run to massage table, got both calves worked on and they both needed it badly. Felt better for it afterward.

Sun 1/22 - PM 50 minutes easy

Charles river path. Went in planning to actually run a race on the track, never mind the lingering soreness from Thursday's miscalculation wearing spikes. 5 minutes into the warmup felt a twinge, two minutes later felt it again and that was that. Plainly obvious that I'm incapable of running fast, running period really, in anything but the thickest gunboat type of shoe. I've actually lost count now of how many times I've reaggravated this fucking thing, it takes some real ability to stretch out a muscle strain into 2+ months of purgatory. After watching a couple hours of the meet, incl. the joke of an old fart's race I was originally entered to run, I went for an easy jog along the river. Even that caused the calf to bark a bit. Unbelievable. Back to jogging to maintain my sanity, icing, massage, etc. No running in anything but the gunboats for the foreseeable future. I fucking hate this.

Sat 1/21 - AM 30 minutes easy

Easy putter on snow-covered streets of Maynard in the midst of the storm. Left calf still tight, could feel better. Slippery conditions underfoot not helping a bit. Should have done this run on the treadmill but I can't bring myself to get on the thing at this point. Did some work with the lax ball in the evening FWIW. Looks like the dry and clear trails might be over with until spring, although warm temperatures are forecast for early next week so who knows.