Dick Beardsley Half Marathon

Ok, I am pretty happy with my performance considering. I had several goals:

Finish the race without destroying my foot. CHECK
Finish the race in under two hours. CHECK
Have fun. CHECK

Here's the numbers according to my garmin . . . pretty consistent until the end.

06-Sep-08 at 08:37:16AM 13.27 01:56:46
Lap 1 at 08:46:05AM 1.00 8:48
Lap 2 at 08:55:05AM 1.00 9:00
Lap 3 at 09:03:54AM 1.00 8:49
Lap 4 at 09:12:33AM 1.00 8:39
Lap 5 at 09:21:11AM 1.00 8:38
Lap 6 at 09:29:45AM 1.00 8:34
Lap 7 at 09:38:23AM 1.00 8:38
Lap 8 at 09:47:06AM 1.00 8:43
Lap 9 at 09:55:42AM 1.00 8:36
Lap 10 at 10:04:38AM 1.00 8:56
Lap 11 at 10:13:38AM 1.00 9:00
Lap 12 at 10:22:57AM 1.00 9:19
Lap 13 at 10:31:54AM 1.00 8:57
Finish at 10:34:02AM 0.26 2:08

I almost missed the start of the race. Packet pickup was crowded - I think they had record participation this year. I went off in search of an out of the way bathroom before the race. I was quite a ways away from the start when I saw all the runners take off. I sprinted to the start and crossed the starting mats in the middle of spectators following behind the runners. I think I was one of the last to start. Of course that made me try to sprint at the start of the race. But after about half a mile of catching up with the pack I began to hold back a little bit.

My heel was feeling pretty good. Only a vague dull pain, not the sharp biting pain I had been feeling the last couple weeks. I was passing everyone at the back of the pack for most of the race. My goal was to beat the two hour clock and I was doing well. My pace didn't start to slip until after mile 10. I wish I could blame it all on my foot but the reality is my foot was not that bad. I was babying it a little bit but the slowdown in miles 11 and 12 was because I was feeling tired. I knew my training was not up to snuff and that was obvious in miles 11 and 12. I did drop down to walk some at the water stations. Fortunately I was ahead of my goal pace so I didn't let it worry me. Better to save my feet and my body for the upcoming marathon.

Overall I am real happy.

From onlineraceresults.com:

Dick Beardsley Half Marathon
Half Marathon

September 6, 2008 - Detroit Lakes, MN
Summary
number of finishers: 832
number of females: 385
number of males: 441
average time: 2:01:00

Gregory Cook
bib number: 117
age: 42
gender: M
location: Fargo, MN
overall place: 371 out of 832
division place: 39 out of 65
gender place: 268 out of 441
time: 1:56:45
pace: 8:55
guntime: 1:58:33
half split : 57:04

Here I go

I'm about to head on over to Detroit Lakes for the Dick Beardsley Half Marathon. It's a fun race on a very pleasant course around the lake. My foot feels pretty good. I've popped a couple of ibuprofen. Should be a gorgeous day - 50 degrees and sunshine. This will probably be my slowest half marathon to date but I will enjoy it. Wish me luck.

Off the sideline and back on my feet

I think the orthotics and the cortisone are working. Although my foot is still sore it is not nearly as painful as it was before. Yesterday I tested the waters on the dreadmill with an easy 3 miles. My foot felt pretty good and the pain did not worsen after the workout. So I went out for a very nice 5.5 miles this morning. A gorgeous morning - crisp and cool. My favorite weather for running. It felt great and the foot does not seem to be getting worse. It's not 100% but I'm so happy it's not worsening after running. I think I'll be able to get through my half marathon this weekend.

Confirmed - PF

I got in to see a podiatrist yesterday afternoon who confirmed I have PF. He gave me a shot of cortisone and some orthotics. Let's see if it will help. So far my foot is still pretty sore. I'm going to try some cross training this week and try my half marathon this weekend. Wish me luck.

Sidelined

So much for increasing my mileage. I have been almost completely sidelined by heel pain. I suspect planters fasciitis so I've been resting, icing and stretching for a while. I made a mistake of going out on Saturday for an 8 mile run. I could hardly walk for two days afterwards. I'm worried about my upcoming races and hope I will be able to participate. I'm heading to the podiatrist this afternoon so we'll see what he says. Wish me luck.