I'm back!

Good news - I'm back on the road and have resumed my training. I did a quick 4.4 miles yesterday and the foot felt fine. So I did my scheduled 12 miles this morning at a 9:00 pace. The foot feels great. I think I am good to go! YAY! TCM here I come!

The verdict - no stress fracture, just stress

Great news - I do not have a stress fracture. There is a small spot on my foot that looks like some stress on the cuboid bones. I was literally on the verge of a stress fracture but it didn't go that far. Word to the wise - pay attention to pain and listen to your body. I will be cross training this week. My plan is to try to ramp up running next week slowly and then taper to the race. Hopefully I can still eek out a sub-4:00 marathon. I'm asking for a lot but I am hopeful.

The PR that wasn't

Well, the Dick Beardsley half marathon just started a few minutes ago. It is an absolutely perfect day for a race - 53 degrees and beautiful blue skies. I have been training all summer and am in better conditioning than ever before. I was hoping to run a new PR today in Detroit Lakes. But here I am sitting at home sulking because of my damn foot. It still hurts. It hurts to walk. I know I can't run on it, though I was so tempted to go anyway. I think I will go crazy if I have to lay off the running for long. *sigh*

Dammit!

After a really great 12 mile run on sunday and a 5 mile run on Monday, I was feeling great. I was looking forward to a new PR at the Dick Beardsley half marathon this Saturday and blowing away my marathon PR in the Twin Cities next month. But all that may be lost. My right foot has been aching for the last couple of days. I went to the clinic this morning and the Doc thinks a stress fracture is most likely in the cuboid bones. I have a bone scan scheduled for Tuesday and will find out the results on Wednesday. Looks like no more running for me in 2010.

Fitness and Training

It's only a month until the Twin Cities marathon. I completed my 4th 20 mile run last Sunday. Training has been going really really well. You can see from my 8 mile run this morning (details below) that my pace is improving. Most importantly my heart rate is remaining lower. It used to jump up to about 175 or so when I was pushing this hard but now I can barely break 160. I think the chances of me blowing away my PR next month are very good. I have the Dick Beardsley half marathon on September 11 and I'm looking forward to a fast time.

Intervals (GPS Interval)
Type	Distance	Time	Total Time	Pace	Avg HR	Max HR
Interval				8:54	133	145
Interval	1 Mi	7:54.21	16:47.34	7:55	146	153
Interval	1 Mi	7:57.28	24:44.62	7:58	147	156
Interval	1 Mi	7:55.03	32:39.65	7:56	144	157
Interval	1 Mi	7:54.82	40:34.47	7:55	153	160
Interval	1 Mi	7:55.45	48:29.92	7:56	155	158
Interval	1 Mi	7:36.06	56:05.98	7:37	155	161
Interval	1 Mi	8:03.14	1:04:09.12	8:04	153	158
Interval	0.02 Mi	0:09.59	1:04:18.71	8:00	157	158

On the fitness front I have been working out a lot and really building my core. I feel a lot stronger and tighter though my weight loss has slowed significantly in the last month. I'm now down to about 215 pounds and I don't know if I'll hit 200 before the marathon. But that's ok. My body is still shrinking and I'm building muscle.