I decided to do my Sunday run with my friend that is also doing the DL half as she wanted to do 12 miles. I ran to her house (we live 3 miles apart), we ran over to the Rose Bowl and back. She said she could drive me home. However I realized when I left for the run, I was feeling good and strong. I was going slow and steady but was not my usual tired self. I decided to go the 3 miles home which became a hybrid running and long cool down.
I think it has something to do with this website I discovered. I cracked my neck earlier on Saturday and felt instant relief but then it turned to pain in my neck and shoulder. I woke up in the middle of the night feeling awful and worried my run would not happen so I turned to Google. Google never fails because I stumbled onto this crazy named website: do it yourself joint pain relief. Strange name but I figured why not?
Well this website was a miracle worker. I was able to do the stretches in the 3 parts recommended and my pain went from about a 7 to 3 and I knew I would be able to get back to sleep. I also decided to peruse the website and stumbled on links for Achilles pain: my achilles has been tight so I tried those as well. I did some stretches for my butt, hip, and shin and of course achilles tendon. The soreness in my calves and shins were GONE almost immediately. In the morning, I did all of the same stretches and even though my neck was still sore, it was the best I have felt during a run in a long time. My calves did not hurt (well just when I would go up hills after mile 14) and my shin pain was minimal in my calf sleeves.
Basically, I plan on continuing these stretches. It is crazy to think about how interconnected all of the muscles and nerves are in our body. All the stretches do is concentrate on sensitive areas and loosening the muscles around it.
When was your last successful long run?