Long Runs, Pain, and Injuries

This past Tuesday, around noontime, I ran eight miles, winding up and down my neighborhood streets. It was my longest single run since this past January, when I ran the Newnan's Lake 15K (9.3 miles).  I felt good at the end, not only knowing that I could have run for longer, but also that my body seemed to be suffering no adverse effects.  Other than a brief thigh cramp about an hour later, the rest of that day gave me a sense of optimism that I could start going on a couple of longer runs per week, which would put me in a constant state of preparedness for entering, running, and finishing any half-marathon race that might come along my way.  I strategized staging these long runs on Mondays and Fridays, so I had intended to run today.  Instead, I'm writing about NOT running today after experiencing a sporadic, unusual feeling on my right shin yesterday evening while at work...no pain whatsoever, but still something I want to monitor at least through today before I run again.  After going through that IT-band injury just below my knee in early 2011 and having to deal with plantar fasciitus in one of my feet two years later, I am learning to pay more attention to warning signals from my body.  Endurance running training inherently involves feeling sore and aching a bit, but some pains may indicate problems "down the road" and need to be addressed before complications can develop.

I'm still looking forward to going on long distance runs.  If things look clear on Monday, I'm trying out another one, maybe getting to the ten-mile level: the course is already mapped out in my mind and my running music is already downloaded on my mp3 player...