Listen To Your Body

A lot of runners are prone to leg cramping, especially those who run long distances.  I run about five miles three times a week, so the worst version of leg cramps -- those involving lactic acid build-up -- aren't my worst problem.  I'm more prone to the garden variety didn't warm up enough version.

A few weeks ago, I was running along at a pretty good clip when my left calf turned to wood.  It was that quick, too.  I wasn't sure what caused it, but I knew what to do and it saved me weeks or even months of recovery.  I stopped running.

It was that simple.  The times when I didn't listen to my body and I kept pushing, I ended up with pulled muscles, strained tendons or worse, plantars fascitis -- beginning separation of a tendon from the heel.

The latest experience was an excellent reminder that when the pain isn't from properly performed exercise, it's a good idea to stop and figure it out before continuing.  Powering through is too riskly.  In this case, I stopped and gently stretched and massaged my calf to the point where I could walk home.  Then, I took a look at the bottom of my running shoe and found that the tread had worn too much at the heel.  Basically, the shoe was causing a slight twist in my foot and leg and the resultant torque was causing my leg to lock up.  I know this is the case because when I used a new pair of shoes, the problem didn't appear.

Bottom Line: Your body knows best.  Listen to it!