How Long?

I really wanted to go for a long run today. This one gave me the option of shortening it at several points. I cut out the major hill climb, to lose a couple miles. Then I missed a turn which added some, wound up doing 11.8 as I mapped it afterwards. The right foot got pretty sore. Seems just stiff, all the little foot bones all locked up too tight. It'll probably be fine, and I got a good 1:45 min workout in. Thinking about a snowshoe race on Sunday, would be my first ever, and I needed some running for confidence.

Snowstorm Before The Solestice

After 2 1/2 months of recovery, I ran my first couple of painless miles. The very next day I dropped another huge box on my foot mashing my ankle. Could be worse, but I'm not entirely out of commission. Cross training at home is picking up, and there is great low-impact snowshoeing weather! The Hanukkah race was postponed and I may expect a decent run there, next Sunday. Meanwhile, I've been making frequent visits to the summit of Mt. Tom to enjoy this winter weather. Yesterday, my son came along for some sledding. Enjoy the photos below, I'll be adding to this slideshow later today after a snowshoe hike to the summit.

 

One Year Blogging

There goes the milestone. Over 1300 views, over 1000 uniques, thanks for stopping by folks! I returned to school this year and found my writing skills in decent shape, primarily due to posting and writing race reports. The blog serves me well. I used to be someone who exclusively hand-wrote everything, even if it went to the word processor afterwards. A shoulder injury made this very uncomfortable, and I lost the discipline of writing for awhile. Thanks to anyone who showed up here, where I post, and was counted on the little counter I check. There is always the expectation of a reader when writing. Blog visitors add a useful dynamic, even if some percentage is the google-bot.

My foot is still a-hurtin. Work hasn't really given it the best chance to heal, but it is much better. I took 2 weeks off, then ran last week to find some pain afterwards. It will be 10 days since then that I'll run the Hot Chocolate Run in Northampton. The big toe and arch of my right foot haven't hurt in days. This morning, I had some random pain in another joint of the same foot. Somehow, this makes me feel more positive about the big toe. The 5k will be on pavement, smooth and cushy in new road shoes. I won't be breaking in the new pair of shoes in, to avoid re-injuring my foot, but I will be racing on Saturday.

Here's my attempt at intelligence and sanity. If I can't expect to return to regular running immediately, based on how my foot feels after the race, I won't. I'll take the next 2 weeks off and run a gentle 5 miles at the last EORC Grand Prix Race, the Hanukkah 5 Miler. At that point, if all is not better, the workload at Fed Ex will allow my foot to heal over an entire month of not running. So this injury will have affected me for most of 4 months. Now, that hurts!