Eight Miles, Calf Pain

Hilly, breezy, 50 degrees. A good run, 8.2 mi in 1:09:48, pace 8:31. In contrast with yesterday’s 8-miler which was faster than it seemed, this one seemed faster than it was. I’m such a poor judge of speed. It was enjoyable nonetheless, and as always I feel wonderful afterward. I heard the songs of Canada geese, mallards, robins, cardinals, red-winged blackbirds, and several other songs that I don’t know. I saw lots of little birds in weed fields, but don’t recognize the species. A single-engine airplane roared down the runway and took flight as I ran past the airport, it’s oily exhaust fumes briefly floating by on the breeze.

One minor problem: I woke this morning with a little pain in the right calf, very localized. I was unable to massage it out, and it came and went and returned again during the run, though not made worse by the run. It’s still there. Could be: (1) Just a minor cramp from all the running (36 miles in 4 days), or (2) A minor blood clot, called a thrombosis, caused by the thalidomide. If it’s a cramp, which is most likely, then I’m not at all concerned; it will go away as I taper for the upcoming marathon. But just in case it’s a clot, I took an extra aspirin and have been eating ginger. More important in the long run, I took my last thalidomide capsule last night, so the cause will soon be gone. Another reason to be glad that the thalidomide is done.