Calf pain, the good kind!

One week on and my calf is still holding out! Although I think I have found the tipping point that causes my calves to burn. After two sessions last week where I was running two minutes and walking three minutes my calves were in absolute agony the day after both sessions and for a few days after that too! This is the good type of pain where you know that the muscle that has been underused in everyday shoes and trainers is suddenly asked to do a lot more work. Technically it's known as delayed onset muscle soreness (or DOMS for short). It's just like the sort of pain you get when you decide to lift weights after years of never having lifted so much as a bag of sugar. The muscle is adapting and getting stronger so this initial pain should "hopefully" be the worst of it.
My Stick massage roller has certainly come in handy over the last few days.
This week my sessions increase to two and a half minutes running and two and a half minutes walking. It's feeling easier than before and I don't think I'll get the same level of soreness. I did feel a twinge in my calf muscle this morning but nothing too serious and I was able to continue. To be on the safe side I think I'll run in my normal running shoes on Wednesday just to give it a break. I don't want to tempt fate just yet.
Today was also the first day this year that I was able to wear a short-sleeved running top. It really feels like spring is here when that happens. I always wear shorts, never leggings, even during winter but am not hardy enough to wear the short-sleeved top all year round.
My run was also improved by being able to listen to the podcast of the return of Adam and Joe on 6 Music. They've been away for 15 long months and help make long runs feel much shorter. I only ever listen to podcasts rather than music when I run. I find that the beat of music can interfere with my pace and I end up going faster than I should which completely messes up the training session. By listening to podcasts you get none of this sort of thing but also I find that they can take your mind off the run (in a good way, not a daydreaming-not-paying-attention kind of way). I've also found that I would look forward to the run just because I knew what podcast I would be listening to. So if the training session is going to be the dreaded speed work it would be alleviated by the fact that I knew I would be able to listen to Frank Skinner (for example). Here's a list of my favourite podcasts to listen to whilst running:

• Adam and Joe
• Answer Me This
• Collings and Herrin
• The Danny Baker Show (get well soon Danny)
• Dave Gorman
• Fighting Talk
• Frank Skinner
• Friday Night Comedy on Radio 4
• Iain Lee
• 7 Day Sunday

There's plenty of others but those are the main ones. There's also several great podcasts about running that I listen to in order to get inspiration and some tips:

• Marathon Talk - this is a great podcast for marathon runners (natch) that has interviews with famous runners from around the world such as Paula Radcliffe, highly recommended
• Phedippidations - this is a long running (excuse the pun) podcast by a guy in Boston who talks about everything that occurs to him as he runs. Not that informative but it's worth a listen to hear a normal middle-aged runner being so enthusiastic about running.
• Run Yank Run - I've only just started to listen to this one. It's about an American guy living in London and his thoughts about life and running.
• Running From The Reaper - this one has stopped due to his work commitments but you get the odd sporadic podcast from a guy called Nigel living in Staffordshire running along canals. If you are running a marathon there are a series that he did in the build up to the London marathon a year or two ago that are interesting to listen to as he tries to fit in the training sessions around his work and family life.
• 4 Feet Running - this has also stopped but you get the odd podcast or even vidcast from a married couple in the states. The wife is a marathon runner and her husband is very much a back-of-the-pack non-marathon runner. The dynamic is nice and they seem like a friendly couple.

Anyway, that's enough for now. This is a big post! Here's my run from earlier today. I'll update with another post hopefully during the week or early next week, I'll see how it goes.