Calf blow up again

Distance 16km [total: minimalist 285.6km: Barefoot 4083.9km] Week52  Yearly total 2052.2km

Monday, 24-Dec. 11km

Ah the Christmas holidays are here now so it's time to relax or rather in my case I can go for my morning run at 7am not 5.30am, so that is relaxing in my books.
Today's run was my usual along the beach path. Quiet morning this time due to the absence of early morning exercisers. Legs felt good, still have the stiffness in the right calf but that clears up after a few kilometres. I ran back along the beach and felt pretty good by the end. I waded into the water to cool off the calves after the run.

Tuesday, 25-Dec. 5km

The day of the race. My alarm went off at 5.25am. I got up, mixed a glass of energy drink and began to get things together for the race. Heart rate monitor, water, camera. The weather was perfect, the wind that was blowing yesterday had stopped and it was a calm cool morning. I got down to West Lakes by 5.50am and there was quite a crowd, bigger than in previous years.
We mumbled through a Christmas carol before setting off. My heart rate monitor refused to work, the battery must have run out in the transmitter. The watch just indicated it couldn't find a signal, oh well. I started from the back to slow my start then gradually began to reel people in as we ran along Frederick Road then turning into Trimmer Parade. I was aware of a bit of pain from my calf but nothing that has caused alarm in previous runs.
Trouble started as I approached the rowing club on the lake, the calf pain moved up a notch, I began to get worried. I slowed my pace down and mentally decided that I wouldn't be running 13km today it would only be 8km. As it turned out it wouldn't even be 8km. Within another 100m I felt a ping of pain through my calf and I couldn't run after that point. My race was over.
I was around 3km from the finish and had to limp back. It took me around 35 minutes to get back.
I felt so embarrassed about the fact that it puts the barefoot running in a bad light that I didn't hang around at the end, in fact I just walked past on the other side of the road, pretending I was not part of the event. I got straight in my car and headed home and put it all behind me.
No more running for a month.

Neil