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.

Time to get serious

Ok, so I am behind in my training. But I did get in over 40 miles this past week. All in three long runs. Yesterday I did my longest run to date - 19 miles. I should have had a 20 under my belt a couple weeks ago. All this traveling and eating has left me bloated and not ready for the Twin Cities in October. So, I have decided that I probably will not make a PR on this upcoming race. But, if I want to finish feeling good, without injury, I've got to get more serious about my training. Time to kick it up a notch. Perhaps this blog will make me more accountable. Here's my training plan for this week:

Tuesday, 5 miles

Wednesday, 10 miles

Thursday, 5 miles

Friday, rest

Saturday, 10 miles

Sunday, 20 miles

Let the serious running begin.

Sheer Neglect

Talk about a neglected blog. I really need to get committed to doing something more here.

Time - it's all about time. I have none. And I've been traveling quite a bit. This has been both good and bad for my training. Good in the sense that I have managed to run in many new places from Yellowstone to the Black Hills to Washington, DC. Bad, though, because I haven't been able to lose weight and I'm behind in my training for the Twin Cities.

I did manage to get in a long run yesterday - 15.5 miles. Not the 19-20 I should have done. I'm pretty sore today which tells me I am undertrained. I have to find time to ramp things back up. But, alas, I'm off next week to yet another big city. No long run for me probably.

MSUM 4th of July 10K

What a beautiful day for a race. The air was clean and clear and the temperature was around 58 °F at the start of the race. I made my way over to the track on the campus of Minnesota State University Moorhead around 7:30 to pick up my bib. After stretching a little bit and warming up I lined up at the start. This was a chip timed race but they didn't have starting mats, 0nly finishing mats. So, your time is based on the gun no matter where you start in line. Fortunately this race is rather small with about 250 people, so it wasn't a big deal. I was about 1/3 of the way back from the start - maybe 15 yards. My goal was to finish in less than 50 minutes. I made my 10K PR of 48:48 on this out and back course in 2006 but I am a little bit heavier now than I was back then, so I didn't expect to beat that this time.

The gun went off right at 8:00 taking me by surprise a little bit. I sprinted out of the starting gate west along 6th Avenue. I was feeling really good and established a consistent fast pace right from the get go. West for half a mile or so, a turn to the left for a few blocks and then back east on 9th Avenue got me to the 1 mile mark in 7:42. I felt a twinge in my knee but it quickly disappeared and it was fine for the rest of the race. We came up to 20th street and at about 1.5 miles and I was still feeling great. My pace stayed pretty much the same but my heart rate was climbing over 170.

I turned south on 20th Street and hit the 2 mile mark with a 7:49 mile. Slipping just a bit but still within my goals. The course went another mile south where we turned around to follow the bike path back north. Mile 3 was a little bit slower - 8:04. I was starting to feel the fatigue at the half way point and I was thinking - "This would be great if it were a 5K race!" But I dug down deep and pulled it out from within. Mile 4 - 7:55 YES! Mile 5 - 8:02 - Ok . . Hold ON! You're almost there. Mile 6 - I had to let up just a little bit. My slowest mile of the race was the last mile 8:12. I could see the end in sight and when I came around the corner and turned into the Nemzek field I let it all out and finished strong. My official time - 49:43. Not bad. Made my goal but not a new PR. I was happy with my race.