It's Not Comfortable? Good!

I often strive to do something outside of my comfort zone: try a new running route; try running at a different time of the day; try a new fruit; etc. Sometimes I have fantastic results, like when I tried eating quinoa for the first time, and sometimes not so much (I found fresh lychees nothing special and am content if I never have them again). Now matter how they turn out, I’m always glad I do it.

Yesterday I brought some running gear into work determined to run during lunch. I wanted to get some running in yesterday, but I didn’t wake up early enough to do it in the morning and I had my weekly Dubs Dubs meeting that night. A lunchtime run seemed like the best choice. Yes, I run frequently but never in the middle of the day and never during my lunch hour at work.

At 12:50, I went into the bathroom, lugging my running clothes, and prepped for my run. Once I left the bathroom, took one last swig of water, grabbed my cell phone and a dollar (just in case I need water or something) and headed out the door. I work in Midtown East in Manhattan, not to far from Grand Central Station, so I headed east toward the river. There is a bike path/walkway right on the water, so I started running.

About 10 minutes into my run, I got the sharpest pain in the back of my calf into my foot. OWWW!! Every time I took a step, it felt like my entire lower leg and foot was on fire. I had to slow down to a limping walk to try and walk out the cramp(??) in my leg. I stopped to stretch it some, hoping I could get the kink out. And then I continued walking.

I alternated walking and stretching for several minutes until I got to an area where I could cross over the highway, which was about 24^th Street. I was still in a lot of pain, so I figured my run was done for the day, but I still had to walk back to my office. I was annoyed because I was so looking forward to the run. I really was enjoying, for the few short minutes I was able to, running along the water with the wind on my face. I cursed silently at my leg through much of the walk back.

As I was walking, I noticed the pain was slowly subsiding. A few blocks from the office, I noticed I wasn’t in pain at all. I decided to test the leg again, knowing that if it acted up again, I only had a short walk back to the office. I started and waited for the shooting pain to start, and it never came. I ran for about 5 minutes, but it was coming to the end of my lunch hour and I had to return to the office and still needed to cool down and stretch.

Dammit!! If I would have had more time, I definitely would have stayed out there longer. Stupid leg!

So, do I regret going outside my comfort zone and getting out there yesterday? No, because I wouldn’t have found the new route that is absolutely fantastic. Do I wish my body would do what I want it to? Of course, but it sometimes just doesn’t. I am able to realize, through experience, that every run is not going to be like that last one and it won’t keep me from doing it again. I definitely will go for another lunchtime run and soon. And I will keep stepping outside my comfort zone. If I don’t, then I will never experience anything new and where’s the fun in that??