1.25 miles
neighborhood
27 degrees
A short run to see how my calf was doing. I think it’s okay. No pain. My heel felt a little strange by the end, but that could be from the cold — I didn’t run long enough to warm it up. (a cautious) Hooray!
My favorite parts of today’s run: cresting the hill on edmund and seeing the river burning a bright silvery white in the distance; the comforting smell of a fire burning in someone’s fireplace; and the wind chimes echoing through the alley as I walked home.
before the run
While searching for calf stretches I came across this delightful fact: the calf is often referred to as the peripheral heart!
Throughout the calf muscles is a network of veins, arteries and nerves. The calf muscles and the deep veins have a network of valves and pumps. This system is called your “peripheral heart.” This is because, when you’re in an upright position, the calf muscles work against gravity to close the valves – contracting and driving blood from your legs towards your heart.
Sore Calves: A Full Guide
Very helpful. I remember reading about calf heart attacks and I wondered why they were called that. Now it makes sense! Also good to remember: the calf is made up of 2 muscles: gastrocnemius (bulging one) and soleus (flat, underneath).
Before heading out for my run, I tried out these stretches. I liked them:
after the run: fun with medical terms!
I haven’t done one of these for some time. I want to turn gastrocnemius and soleus into something else. Inspired by Mia Farrow in Rosemary’s Baby, I’ve pulled out my scrabble letters and I’m making new words or phrases.
- gout ocular messiness
- regulate moss cousins
- smile across us tongue
- oust uncola’s regimes! this has an extra s that I couldn’t fit, but it was too good not to mention
That’s all I have right now. I think I’ll keep working on it later today. It’s fun, but the tiles are harder to see than I thought.