Easy week

I decided to give myself a bit of a break last week and ran about 20 miles total.  This was partially due to needing a little rest after the race, partly due to the 95 degree weather, and partly due to the fact that I spent Sun-Thurs landscaping.  Yesterday I decided to put an end to the break and pound out 16.5 miles.  I actually have some soreness in my knees this morning that I was not expecting, so I'm going to take it easy and only do 45 minutes or so today.  One thing I need to get back in the habit of is doing my P90X, plyometrics in particular.  I think plyo really helps all the stabilizer muscles in my legs that don't get trained enough from straight running.  Getting rid of the muscle imbalances really seems to help prevent injury.  Anyway, I think I'm definitely on track for a <4:00 marathon.  Now that the weather is a little cooler I should be able to get some amazing training runs in.  I'm considering the idea of doing 18-20 miles next weekend, but I'll have to make sure all my joints are 100% before I do that.

Urban Wildland Half Marathon

Brief post before I go shower and nap, but I just completed the Urban Wildland Half Marathon with a time of 1:44:16, which blew my expectations out of the water.  After a poor 2 weeks of training, I expected a disastrous time, and wasn't sure if 1:50 was in the ballpark.   Boy was I wrong.  Wave 1 of TC here I come!

Torchlight 5k

Wednesday marked the night of the Torchlight 5k through downtown Minneapolis.  My buddy Chris had invited me, so even though I greatly prefer racing in the morning, I decided to go for it.  Besides, it would be a nice replacement for an interval day.  Well... it's a point to point run, meaning you start at one point and end at in a different place.  I parked at the end of the race, which meant I had to walk to the start line.  I was running a little late due to insane traffic, so I ended up getting to my parking spot about 6:45.  Registration was scheduled to end at 7:15, so I ended up running 2 miles to the start at a little faster pace than I would have preferred.  I think it ended up being a decent warmup; I'm not sure it affected my performance, at least not much.  The one thing is I didn't have time to drink any water, and I was parched by the halfway point.  On second thought, maybe it did affect me, but only in hydration and not in actual fatigue.

In order to register, you need your ID, and of course I had to carry my car keys.  Then, after registration, you get your t-shirt.  Luckily, Chris had parked at the start, so we dropped by his car and left our shirts, but it's pretty poor planning if you ask me.  I guess they figure it's a fun run, so people aren't competing for anything, but a large percentage of runners are like me where they're always trying to get a PR.  Even though I knew this wasn't the best race for a fast time, I was still going to try as hard as I could, and I didn't want additional baggage slowing me down.

We lined up pretty close to the front of the pack near the start line, but again, they didn't have it organized very well.  There was no chute keeping runners from starting on the edges and the sidewalk, so once the gun went off, the start moved even slower than it needed to because people were filling in from the sides into the narrower street.  Finally, nobody seems to understand the concept of only starting up front if you're a faster runner.  Again, even though it's a fun run, I would think you'd have some semblance of thought and start near the back if you're going to be walking.  But no... I ended up passing a woman who started on the front line who had a cane!  I wanted to yell at her as I ran by.  I didn't, but I was extremely frustrated by the lack of any thought or consideration for others.

I did the first quarter mile or so at a pace of over 10:00 per mile, which did not help things at all.  Then, once I got a little room, I did the next quarter mile at 6:25 pace, which again, was not particularly wise, as I would find out later in the race.  Then I continued to roll at between 6:55 and 7:10 pace like I had planned, until about mile 2.5.  Here I started feeling the dehydration and the exertion of having to speed up and slow down to navigate the crowds.  I averaged about 7:35 for the half mile from 2.5 to 3.0, even succumbing to mental fatigue and stopping to walk for 2 seconds.  That is something I am not happy about, and I vow will not happen again during a race.  I had just slowed to a walk when a fellow runner implored me to keep going, and my moment of weakness passed and I trudged on.

From there on, I steadily increased my pace and I did the last .1 at under 6:00 pace, so I guess that's a little bit of redemption.  Still, this is the first time I had ever let mental fatigue take over, and it's not a feeling I like.  In the past, I'd have thoughts of slowing down, but I was always able to quell the feeling before it took a strong root.  Anyway, I crossed the finish line with a gun time of 22:50, and a "chip" time (there were no chips, but I started my watch when I crossed the starting line) of 22:22.  My GPS said I had run 3.07 miles, and I'm not sure how it could possibly underestimate the distance I traveled, so I'm not sure the course is a legitimate 5k course.  I thought I had read that it was USATF certified, and I would believe it if my GPS had overestimated, but I cannot conceive how it could underestimate the distance.  Oh well, I'll take it!

Good week of running!

Whew.  I just finished up a 40 mile week, which is actually my highest total ever.  It was probably my best overall training week, especially considering the bump in mileage.  Had a great tempo day on Tuesday, followed by 5x3:00 intervals at 7:00 pace w/2:00 rest on Thursday, and finished it up with a long run of 14 miles at 2:00 half-marathon pace (9:11 per mile).  My friend Chris invited me to do the Torchlight 5k with him, so I signed up for that today.  I think I'm going to do 400m repeats on Tuesday for my first real anaerobic workout.  I've never done speed work at an anaerobic pace, so I think getting one workout in before the 5k should help considerable.  I'll be doing the 400m repeats in 1:40, which equates to about a 6:42 mile.  I think I'm almost ready to bump my training paces up a notch, but I'm going to wait until I run the 5k to see if I should.

It might be ambitious, but I'm hoping to break 22:00 for my 5k.  After the week of training I just completed, I feel like anything is possible.  One drawback is that I'm not going to taper at all; the only modification I will make is to skip my normal speed work on Tuesday.  Currently, I'm directing most of my training towards the Twin Cities Marathon, and I'm unwilling to let my mileage slide in order to put in a better time at the 5k.  I guess we'll see if my fitness has improved enough since December to be able to PR when "running through" the event.

Threshold Run

I learned my official time in the Minnetonka 8k was 37:28.  I'm positive the clock was at <37:26 when I crossed, but mb it was off a bit.  Oh well.

Not going to go into too much detail today, but I just had a good workout.  Did a 3 mile tempo between 1 mile warmup and cooldown, and I banged out the miles in 7:34, 7:32, and 7:21.  I'm very satisfied.

Once a Runner

Well, I'm guessing the few readers of this blog are probably sick of me just talking about the stats on my runs, so I'm going to try to diverge from that a little bit.  I will still blog a particularly good workout, but I'll try to make it a bit more interesting.

I read the book "Once a Runner" by John L. Parker earlier this week, and boy did that ever make me want to run.  I'm guessing not too many people reading this blog would ever go and read a book about running, but if you ever intend to, I would skip the rest of the paragraph.  In the book, a collegiate runner Quenton Cassidy with a PR of 4:00.3 in the mile gets kicked out of school (for no good reason).  His friend Bruce convinces him to use his cabin and do nothing but train and try to reach his full potential.  He pounds out some 140+ mile weeks, comes back and runs a 3:52.5 mile.  The descriptions are totally what I would expect the training to be like, and reading it was really inspiring.

After I read the last page, I wanted to go out and run 20 miles.  Alas, my legs were still recuperating from my race, so I had to settle for my normal 4.5-5 mile route.  I doubt I'll ever even get below a 5:00 mile, but I promise you that I will get under 6:00.  I don't even know what I could do a mile in right now.  I did the first mile of my recent race in 7:07, so I'm guessing I'm somewhere around 6:30-6:40 for my fastest mile.  That's kind of sad considering I did the mile run in 6:51 back in elementary school without any training.

One thing that was a bit depressing is that the book begins and ends with a 26 year old Cassidy reflecting that his running career is over, that he's too old to compete in the mile.  Well... I'm 26, so it's a good thing I'm more interested in middle distance running than the mile.  Luckily, I'm nowhere near the highest level of fitness I can achieve, so I'll be able to get faster and faster for years to come if I stick with it.

Today I'm meeting my friend Jeff for a run.  I haven't seen him in years, and he's quite a bit faster than I am yet, but he's coming off an injury so I should be able to keep up with him for now :P.

Leave me comments with suggestions of what I should write about, otherwise I'm going to ramble disjointly like I did today.

Minnetonka 8k

Well... I'm still waiting for the official results, but I had a time of 37:26 on my Garmin for my 8k, which puts me under my goal of 37:30.  I did not check out the course beforehand, so I did not know what to expect.  The description said rolling hills, but I had no idea they meant you were either ascending or descending the entire time.  To be honest, when I hit the halfway point, I didn't think there was any possible way I would get under 37:30.  The hills weren't very steep, but they were endless and they really sapped the energy out of me.  It also didn't help that I went out with the second group and did the first mile in about 7:10.  I should know better, but I'm still relatively inexperienced when it comes to racing so the adrenaline makes me think I can go faster than I really can.

If anyone wants to read it, I might post a more detailed description of the race once the official results come in.  In the meantime, here is the gps data.

P.S.  I don't care what it says for elevation, there was more than 80 ft of elevation change.

Does anyone else...

...feel the need to run faster than other runners, even on an easy jog?  Yesterday I was on an easy run, not wanting to do too much because I want to do 8-10 miles at a fast pace tomorrow, but I turned a corner and the was another runner about 50 feet ahead of me.  I tried to tell myself to just take it easy; she was a running a bit faster than I was, no big deal.  Then she looked back to judge my speed, and I couldn't take it.  I increased my speed, subconsciously at first, unaware of what I was doing.  I looked down at my Garmin, saw the increase in pace, and decided "what the hell."  I quit fighting it and pressed forward.  I didn't bother looking at my pace again; I figured I was going about 30 seconds per mile faster than my normal easy pace.  She looked over her shoulder again and I had closed the distance by about half.  If I'm not mistaken, she sped up at this point as well.  I caught up and passed her, and as I did, I looked down at my watch.  It said I was running at a 7:30 pace.  Again, this is not what I had intended.  I was feeling good and fresh but I had already reached my quota for that fast of running for the week, and was planning for more on Saturday, and I really didn't want to overdo it.  At the same time, just because I was past her didn't mean I could slow down.

As I neared my next turn, I hoped that she would take a different route.  I turned the corner, and I swear I heard her footsteps follow me.  Darn.  For whatever reason, I don't like to look back over my shoulder, so I waited for another turn to look for confirmation.  Just because I made it a competition in my own head didn't mean I wanted anyone else to know.  I came up on a road where I had to stop for a moment for traffic.  It was the perfect opportunity to look back.  I do, as nonchalantly as I could muster, and there was nobody there.  From there, I resumed my original intended pace and continued on.  2 miles later, I met another runner, and you know how it goes from there.

Longer Tempo Run

As promised, I set out to do 4 miles at my Tempo pace, adding 1 mile to my amount from last week.  I'm happy to report that I was successful.  After my mile warmup, I ran 4 miles in 30:32 which gives an average pace of about 7:38.  If I were to keep that up for another .97 miles, that would give me a 37:56 8k, which is right about at my goal.  I now have no doubt in my mind that I can accomplish my goal of 38:00, and might even be closer to 37:30.  I'm especially optimistic considering this came 2 days after running 15 miles.  It was by no means a walk in the park, and I was damn near tapped at the end, but with more rest beforehand and 3 more weeks of training left, I feel pretty good about where I'm at.  I'm excited to blow away my previous 8k time of 44:32.

Workout Details

All said and done, today I ran 6.4 miles in 56:55.  I walked for 4 minutes after the fast 4 miles, and then I tried to jog the rest of the way home but was bothered by a pretty bad side-ache for the rest of the way home.  I tried walking until it went away, but it would come back within 30 seconds of jogging.  Oh well, I got the important part of the workout done before that affected me, so I can't complain.

Minneapolis Half Marathon

Yesterday, I tagged along with my friends Ben and Mim on their half-marathon.  I had tried to register, but it was full, so I ran along with them and just didn't get a medal or a shirt for my troubles.  It was supposed to thunderstorm, but it ended up being a sunny day, with rain clouds making a brief appearance off in the distance.  It was pleasant running without worrying about my time.  I've entered races before where I was "just admiring the scenery" or "running with friends," but the second that gun goes off, moderation is out of the question.  This time, not having a chip time to worry about, I was able to relax and enjoy the run; not that I don't enjoy racing, but it's a different kind of enjoyment.  I wouldn't say racing is fun, but it's extremely rewarding, whereas yesterday was actually fun.  I did feel a little weird not having a race number, and that will probably be the only time I do that.  It feels a bit too much like stealing.  Then again, 100 bucks for a half-marathon is robbery as well.

Workout Details

You can see in the workout details that the distance is actually 15 miles.  I was feeling pretty good after 12 miles at a relaxed pace, so I broke off from the race and ran 3 miles on my own and met back up with them at the finish line.  You'll also notice that the 2nd mile was quicker than the rest.  That was because about a mile into the race, I realized I really had to pee.  I didn't want to hold Ben and Mim up, so they went on ahead and I had to play catchup.  It was worth it though; I was far more relaxed afterward.  I ended up with 15 miles in about 2 hours and 30 minutes, but the goal of this workout wasn't speed, so I'm very happy.  It was about spending time with friends and about getting some mileage in.  If anything, keeping my pace a bit slower was very beneficial.  I was able to get 15 miles in without putting undue impact on my legs.

One thing that was pretty cool was that this was an out and back race. It's the first time I've run a race like that, and while normally I prefer circuits, it was fun to watch the race leader fly by with a police motorcycle in front of him.  I overheard that he finished in 1:14, but I haven't bothered to double check.  It was kind of fun being able to cheer the leaders on as they went by.  The leading woman also got a bunch of cheers, especially from the ladies, as she went by.  All in all, it's a race I will consider actually entering next year, though my primary race for June will be Grandma's.

Good Tempo Run

Workout Details

Today, I planned to try the same workout I attempted last week.  When I set out, I immediately thought it was going to be a bad run.  Running at my easy pace seemed a little more difficult than normal, and I realized I had to pee about 5 minutes into the run; not a good way to start.  I continued anyway, hoping it would get better as I went along, and it certainly did improve.

I did my mile warmup, and followed it by 3 miles at my tempo pace.  I had aimed for 7:45-7:50, and I was able to hit that goal with every mile.  I posted times of 7:47, 7:45, and 7:36 for the splits.  I think I could have gone further, but since I'm still getting used to speed work again, I didn't want to push my luck and end up hurting myself.  I think next week I'll try to do 4 miles, and then 5 miles the week after that.  I have an 8k coming up on the 26th, so it would be nice to have a 5 mile run at close to race pace for mental and physical fitness.

I plugged my December 5k time into a race predictor, and it gave me a time of under 37:14 for an 8k, so I'm going to set a goal of 38 minutes for it.  I think I'll just run easy on Thursday this week, run long on Saturday, recovery on Sunday, Tempo on Tuesday, and then throw in some intervals next Thursday for some anaerobic work in the weeks before the race week.

Long Run w/Mike

Workout Details

Today, my friend Mike came over with his bike to join me on a run.  I set out to do 10-12 originally, but I modified that to a full 13.1 during the run.  Well... that was before it was 85+ degrees outside, so I quickly came back to Earth and settled for 11.8 miles.

I hadn't had a run of this distance in Shakopee before, so I took the opportunity to explore a little bit.  I ran/he biked through downtown Shakopee until we hit a nice path that runs along the river.  We soon found out that the path leads all the way to Chaska.  It was very pleasant; the trees hovered over the majority of the path so we were out of direct sunlight for the most part.  It was a very cool trail.  It runs by the remains of the old Shakopee Brewery.

I ended up doing the first 10 miles in 1:31:19, which is a little faster than a 2 hour half-marathon pace.  Considering the heat, I don't think that's too bad.  I ended up walking for a bit when we reached civilization.  I needed some water before I could start up again; I had only brought one water bottle which was not enough for this heat.  We found a gas station, and I ended up filling my bottle up in the bathroom sink.  It was not my favorite thing to do.  Anyway, I got some water in me and I was able to run the rest of the way home (except my cooldown walk), even finishing the last half mile or so at under 8:00 pace.

I was pooped and completely dehydrated, so I immediately gulped down 2 Carnation Instant Breakfasts, my post-run meal of choice.  Then I took the opportunity to cook us some burgers on my new grill, and now I'm off to a party at a friend's house.  What a great day!

Hottest May Ever

So the sod for my house came on Tuesday, and we haven't had anything but scorching hot temperatures and dry weather since.  On the plus side, I also got a new grill to use on these dry, sunny days.  Anyway, this blog isn't about my ruminations; it's supposed to be about running.

Workout Details

Tuesday I set out to do a tempo run at about 11:30, which was a bit later than I should've gone.  It was already 80-85 degrees by the time I stepped outside.  Well, the heat really affected me.  It's the first time running in this kind of temperature since last year, so my body has not acclimated at all yet.  I did my mile warmup, and set off for 2 miles at 7:40, followed by a brief rest, and another mile at 7:40 before cooldown.  That was ambitious.  If it was 50 degrees, I'm confident I would've been successful.  As it was, I did not succeed.  I got 1.5 miles done on my first interval, but I had to take a walk break.  Then... when I started up again, I could only manage another kilometer (.63 miles).  All in all, I ended at 4 miles in 35:25.  At least it was enough fast running to serve the purpose of the workout, but I wish I could have done more.  There's always next week.

Tomorrow I plan to do 10-12 miles, but it's going to be extremely hot, so I might tucker out early.  My friend Mike is coming into town and going to bike it with me, so he had the bright idea of him bringing my rollerblades in his backpack just in case.  It should be fun.  I've got a couple ideas of where to run so I can explore a bit more of Shakopee on foot.

I missed the registration for the Minneapolis Half-marathon; I went to sign up today with no luck.  Oh well, I was on the fence anyway.

Running in the rain

So today my friend Carla came over to run.  She hadn't been running too much lately, so we planned to do about 5 miles.  I wanted to get a long run in, so I wanted to set out early and get 5 or 6 miles in and arrive back at my house around the same time she did.  This would give me a total of 10-11 miles.  My timing wasn't too great.  I was about 1.5 miles out from my house when I saw her drive by, so I turned around and booked it home.  I pounded out a 7:35 mile to try to get home so she wasn't waiting too long, but at the same time, I didn't want to overdo it and make it so I would hurt myself in trying to get a little distance in.  Anyway, I got home and we set out for a little over 5 miles at a nice easy pace.

As we left, the clouds were rolling in, but at about the 1.5 mile mark, the rain started coming down.  For whatever reason, I have a hard time starting a run when it's raining, but if I'm already outside, I don't mind it at all.  We were soaked through pretty quickly, but it only rained for about 5 or 10 minutes.  While my shirt and shorts were soaked, my shoes were still pretty good.  That all changed about 20 minutes later when it started raining harder than before.  Within 20 seconds my shoes were soaked through.  That's really the one thing I don't like about running in the rain.  I don't mind being wet myself, but my feet are another story.

I ended up doing 8.3 miles in 1:19:04.  I really had wanted to do more, but it just didn't work out with the timing.  I wasn't about to leave Carla at my house while I went back out and did another 3-4 miles.

Now I'm left in a tough situation.  I had wanted to try to bang out 10+ miles at under 9:00 pace today so that I could have a feeling about how I would perform in the Minneapolis Marathon before I signed up.  Now, having run less mileage at a slower pace (albeit while feeling extremely fresh at the end), I have no idea where I'm at.  I would like to be able to run under 2:00 at the very least, and I'm pretty confident I could do that.  But I also like to at least have a chance at breaking my PR each time I race, and I'm not confident I would be able to.  Oh well, I have until the 28th to sign up before prices get raised again.

If I feel good tomorrow and my little aches and slight calf muscle strain isn't apparent, I might consider running long again on Wednesday or Thursday.  We'll see.

Finally, I'd like to give a shout out to my friend Jeff who is dealing with some Achilles issues at the moment.  I hope it gets better soon and you're able to do Grandma's!  Either way, you should run TC in October (but beware, normally it's filled by this time, so time is running out!).

Weekend Run

This weekend was a fun one as far as running goes.  I met my friends Ben and Mim, who are training for a half-marathon on June 6, for a run in Hyland Park.  We went just under 6 miles at a pretty leisurely pace.  It was a gorgeous day and I was able to get some sun (actually too much).  I've been running by myself for the most part, so it was fun to run with other people.

Then on Sunday, I decided I was going to try for a 10k (~6.2 miles), not at race pace, but at a reasonably high effort, which for me is around 8:15-8:20 a mile.  I know, I know; last post I said I was going to take it easy.  I'm not sure it's possible for me to do that, though.  The times I enjoy running the most are when I'm able to push myself and surpass my expectations.  Anyway, I was doing great and could have easily completed it, but I felt some tightness below my calf so I took it easy after 8k (~5 miles). Either way, I did 8k in 41:45 for an average pace of 8:23.  It was in the middle of the day with the sun shining brightly, and I wasn't really winded, so once my legs get accustomed to the mileage, I think I'll be able to put in some pretty respectable times.

After doing more than 6 miles each day of the weekend (especially with a bunch of them at a faster pace), I really should take a day off today, but as I look out my window, the sun is shining and begging me to go outside and enjoy it.

Dave

Checking In

Well, it's been a month since I last checked in.  I'm not sure if anyone still reads this due to my sporadic updates, but who knows.

I've been running pretty consistently lately.  My foot has given me zero trouble, and I've had little injuries here or there from pushing too hard, but nothing too bad.  I've come to realize that I don't have the willpower to take it easy and increase my mileage slowly.  I push it too high, too fast, get hurt, get healthy, rinse, repeat, but every time I get better and faster.  I think I'm probably near the running shape I was in last October when I completed my 1:55 half-marathon, but I've also been doing P90x, so my overall conditioning is probably the best it's ever been.  So far, my longest outing this year has been about 8.5 miles, but I think I could have gone farther.  I just didn't want to overdo it, since I had set out to do 6 and didn't bring any fluids.

My plan for a 4 hour marathon in June has been postponed.  I had planned to do the Mickelson Trail Marathon, but my friend who lives in Rapid City has moved, and nobody wants to go with me! :-(.  Anyway, I just figured I'd check in and let everyone know what's up.  As soon as I surpass my previous fitness, I'm sure I'll start blogging more.  It's just hard to write up a post about something I was able to faster and longer before.  I've run about 20 miles each the past two weeks, and once I get my mileage stabilized at 25-30 for a couple weeks, I'll start throwing some speed work in and really get results.  I'm really trying to avoid significant setbacks though, so I'm trying to get there slowly.  No promises though.

Dave

First Tempo Run of '10

Workout Details.

Whew!  Did a nice Tempo Run today, with the sun shining brightly.  I set out to do a 1 mile warm-up, 3 miles at Tempo Pace (which I estimated to be about 8:00/mile), and a 1 mile cool-down.  Turns out this was a bit ambitious in a couple ways.  First, 3 straight miles at Tempo pace might have been a bit much to expect for my first time of year.  I ended up doing 2 Tempo miles, 2 minute walk, followed by 1 more Tempo mile and a brief rest before I started my cool-down mile at my normal Easy pace.  Also, I think 8:00/mile might be a bit high for my Tempo pace.  My heart rate started hitting 176-178 for some of it, which is a bit high for this type of workout.  But this might be due to the fact that I was running into a pretty strong headwind for the first mile and a half of the 2 mile cruise interval.  Also, I haven't had too much experience this year with running in 70 degree weather with the sun beating down on me.  Perhaps if I did it earlier in the morning it would've been a bit easier.  Either way, I think next time I'm going to slow it down a bit and go for 8:05/mile.

I wore some cross-trainers for P90x Core Synergistics yesterday, and I think it was a mistake.  Today when I set out, the familiar twinge in my left foot was there, and it's still not quite right even while I type this.  I think I'll have to go barefoot for all my P90x from here on out.  At least, I'm hoping that's the reason for it.  The only time I've felt anything at all recently is if I wear a stability shoe to do anything.  I'm really hoping it doesn't relapse.  I'm just now finally getting back into running shape where I can do some serious training instead of just easy running.  I also really hope to do at least a half-marathon in June, though I think I might do the full Grandma's Marathon.

Shoes

I have determined that it's my trusty Nike Structure Triaxes that have been root of my foot pain.  I'm not 100% sure, but my foot was feeling great after running in my Frees for a week, but when I put my Structures back on, it seemed to regress.  So, for now I will be using my Nike Frees exclusively.  I've been doing 3-4 miles each day that my knees feel up to it, and my cardiovascular fitness seems relatively unchanged from December, which is when I stopped running.  In fact, I was feeling good on my second or third run, so I knocked out the middle 2 miles of a 4 miler in 15:00.  This was a bit of a mistake, as my knees are not ready for that pace of running yet, but I think I'll be able to switch from purely easy running back to some threshold and interval training in 2-3 weeks.

Enough.

OK, enough messing around.  I'm pretty sure it's just a nerve in my foot, and it's not getting any better, so I'm just going to resume training and deal with the pain until I get better health insurance.  Did 4 miles today without discomfort in my Nike Free's, so that's a good start.

On the way to being injury-free!

Well, my foot is starting to feel better, but I know that if I don't give it more time, it'll just come back to haunt me again.  I think I'll be able to start running again in March.  Hopefully I can get back into sub-2:00 half marathon shape before the Get in Gear half in April.  I think it's doable.

Starting this weekend, I think I'm going to start walking (or elliptical-ing) 30 mins a day, 5 days a week, in order to give my body a head start.  It shouldn't affect my foot, but if I feel the slightest twinge, I'll have to back off.  I learned the hard way that 3 days of running before my foot was 100% set me back another 4-5 weeks, so I'm going to do the best I can to prepare the rest of my body without putting too much strain on my foot.

Break

Sorry for the lack of updates.  I haven't been able to run consistently for the past month.  I have a nagging foot injury that will not go away, so I will be taking a break from running for at least 4-6 weeks :-(.  Hopefully I'll have the chance to talk to a doctor and see what's going on.