“The hay is in the barn.” That would be my motto right now if I were a farmer. I’m not, though. I’m a runner and I have hit that infamous period of training known as taper. I’m going to be starved all the time while running less and less as I allow my broken down muscles to re-build for the October 26th Marine Corps Marathon.

I had been, the last two weeks or so, felt this small pain in my upper left calf. I have ignored it as it went from a running painto a ‘I sat too long’ pain. Yesterday,fully embracing the idea of healing in taper, I took a rest day. I went out to run today. Two-tenths into what Ihad planned on being a five mile run, I felt an intense pain in that spot. I stopped. I stretched. I walked three miles as running hurt.

Home from those three miles, I’ve had some ibuprofen and started icing. I’m hoping for several walks today but am also hoping the running pain disappears. While phantom pains usually seem to manifest during taper, I know this is not a phantom pain.

Pain or not, I’ll be traversing 26.2 miles in 11 days. You can still donate to the charity I am running for here.