Depressing First Run

I was going to do my ride this morning but when I woke up the rain was coming down pretty good. I checked the forecast and it said rain today, partly sunny and a chance of rain on Sunday. I figured I'd do my long ride on Sunday and run during a break in the rain today. A few hours later the rain stopped and it wasn't such a bad day.

I went out for my run and did my usual quick warmup to the stoplight, rest, and start the real run. First time I've ever run with the Garmin and, yes, it feels as stupid as it looks because the thing is so freaking big. I was heading out at a 10:00/mi pace, which is slow but that's what I have to deal with. After about a mile, though, I can feel my left calf starting to seize up--on the front and back. Crap! I make it to the turnaround at the 1.5mi mark and take a break by walking around. Maybe this is happening because it's my first run? Crap! After a few minutes I start up again but another half mile and the front of that left leg starts giving me problems again so I take another break. Crap! I walk and do some rubbing then get going again. I make the mile back home without further incident. Crap!

I download from the Garmin and get to analyzing. I ended up with an 11:17/mi pace, which is awful, of course. The calf thing really has me worried, though. With swimming you're floating in water and on the bike you have the machine but on the run it's just you and gravity--and I have a lot of gravity. I was thinking of doing just one more run before UCLA but now I am thinking of adding one more on the 15th. The slowness does bother me, though my lungs were just fine, but I really don't know about the calf.

After UCLA I can progress slowly on the run while I'm losing weight on the bike. That has been the plan as I head into the summer racing season and it does look like the way to go. I just may have to accept that this season I'm going to do well on the swim, okay on the bike (though I want to do great on the bike at Hansen Dam), and suck on the run. I'll know more in a few months.