Running With A Pedometer

Thursday: Today was amended from a rest day to a training day, as due to family commitments, I won't be able to run on Friday. No sun this morning, just dark clouds and drizzle. I had my gloves with me, but I took them off quickly as I warmed up fast. I also had my pedometer with me, finally, having been looking for it for ages. I was keen to measure how far I cover in my training sessions, especially as the OU running forum is always discussing distances, and I really wasn't sure how much I did. I measured it from the start of my warm up, 6min wlk, to the end of the cool down. I did two 15min runs with a 5min walk in between, and the pedometer calculated it took me 56mins to cover 4miles. Which is nothing to boast about, but I was pleasantly surprised by the distance I covered, I had previously suspected that I was barely covering two miles per session. I tackled some more short uphill sections today, and while I was struggling up them, I thought of the uphill Mound stretch I may have to do in the Great Edinburgh Run, which is steeper, and the very thought was panic-inducing. I followed this with downhill running to keep my spirits up, as the uphill bits were painfully tough. It was just after doing a tough uphill section, I experienced some pain under my left collar bone, around the base of the neck, like a sharp, tightening pain. That did ease off after I pressed the area and massaged it gently. Apart from that, my right calf was a bit of a pain, as usual. After the first 15min run, I walked for 5mins, and half of that was spent limping due to a slight cramp. Once I got going, the right calf wasn't a major issue, the entire body ached and sweated then. But again when I stopped, the right calf went stiff and heavy. When I get home, it's usually fine after a hot shower and a massage. Now, I expect three days of rest, which feels excessive for someone itching to run more, but it's all part of the training process and should hopefully make me a stronger runner as the muscles get time to repair themselves.