On November 1st, I was seriously considering whether I should drop out of the half-marathon on the 10th. My calves had been touch and go, and it didn't seem reasonable that they would give me 13 miles. That evening I went for a run at a local track.
During my run (jog), I kept my pace to a slow 11:20. My calves started tightening up after a couple of laps. I stopped, stretched, and kept going. As I trotted along I focused on my mid-foot strike. After two miles, things felt pretty good. After five miles, my calves started complaining again. I shook my legs as I ran and they loosened back up. After 9 miles, my feet got a bit crabby...but nothing serious.
Once I reached 11 miles I knew that I could finish the half-maration and I stopped. The only lasting pain from the run was in my left knee. The next day, I still felt ready for the race. By the second day after my run I once again wondered if I would have to drop out of the race.
In the meantime, I purchased a copy of "Advanced Marathoning". While reading through the first chapter I realized how arrogant I had been to advance from almost no running to a half-marathon in just over two months.
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