Ah the Levi’s 501. The iconic jean. The one piece of clothing I have lusted after since high school. The one piece of clothing I could never fit into. Even after my crazy running binge prior to the High School Formal at Otago Boys. Even after running half-marathons I was unable to really fit into a pair of 501s. So imagine my surprise when this weekend, I tried a pair on for giggles and discovered … they fit. They fit well, they aren’t tight, but they make me look like a rock star (well, I might be exaggerating there, but I have received many compliments on them and me after wearing them 
).
So to what do I attribute my new 501′d shape? Maybe Levi’s like all other clothing sizes are getting bigger to keep pace with the expanding waistlines of the first world? Maybe my change in diet/portion size and my run 3-4 days a week regime really is fundamentally chaning the way I am. I feel grumpy when I don’t run. I feel grumpy when I eat too much. Maybe things really are changing.
The big challenge is that I signed up for the Nike Human Race. A Global race where millions of runners from around the world will all run a 10k at the same time. Syncronized by starters in major cities, or doe independantly through your Nike+ enabled running shoes. A bunch of my NY friends will also be running the race (probably) so it’s going to be fun. I want to beat my last 10k time of just on an hour. I had more than 200 miles on my last pair of Asics Kayanos and I literally bought a pair of Nike Structure Triax 11’s just for the race. Its my first pair of non-Asics running shoes in a long time. They were a great deal and got a good runners world review. So far they’ve been great.
However, 2 weeks ago I rode my bike for the first time, scouting a 5 mile loop at breakneck speed. I don’t think I stretched properly, and ever since my left calf muscle has begun to ache. Right at the top of the muscle, it doesn’t hurt when I run, it hurts afterwards. So I took 9 days off running last week (with associated grumpiness). Yesterday, in Detroit I went for a 4 mile loop through Birmingham, MI. It was pretty, hot, beautiful houses, I stretched and ran like the wind. Then after the shower, bam, my calf is in pain again. I am really worried that this means a month off recuperating. That would mean that I will need to find another cardio way to stay in shape without hurting my calf. Grrrrrrrrr, making me even grumpier!
Filed under: exercise, personal improvement, running
