Still In The Game

Few posts lately, because I have not been running. Bimbler's Bluff ended for me after only 12 miles, due to the sore right foot. In the doctor's office later that week, my dissapointment at finishing 'only 12 miles' on a sore foot was something I kept to myself. Despite the pain and having to limp the last of those 12 miles, the DNF didn't bother me at all once I'd made the decision. I felt incredibly stupid for having actually believed I could finish this race with my foot as it had been. Recapping, after dropping a huge box of dry ice and chocolate bound for Macy's on my foot, I ran 10+ miles at Mt. Tom with Jay. Boy was my foot sore. I took the rest of the week off until Monroe Trail Race, which went very very well. The race photos were just recently posted at runwmac.com ...

Despite my foot's complaints, I felt I needed to do that Reservoir Tour, turned Reservoir Wander that I posted about. Running on the trails was a problem, so I took to roads. I'd take to roads again for 20 miles the following weekend, and boy was my foot hurting by then! This was a week out from Bimbler's. The foot didn't hurt much at the reservoir, days before the race when I ran on it.

 

This should have signalled that there was no way I could endure 31 miles on rocky hiking trails. Well, I took the week off after Bimblers, for the most part. I still was on my feet several hours a day at work, and to get in a multi-hour workout I biked 40 miles on Halloween. This did give my foot a chance to heal. On Sunday, yesterday, I ran the 5 mile Dan Barry Memorial Race in Hatfield, to score in my running club's Grand Prix series. My foot was a little sore, but truly a minor problem. I ran a PR and was probably only 5 places out of my potential-un-injured best. My son took a few pictures ...

My plan is to run twice this week. Up to 10 road miles on Tuesday, and up to 8 miles on Thursday at the Reservoir with possible trails. At any point I can throw down some long bikerides, that 40 miles on the bike was a good workout. It really hit my quads hard, but was a good Idea as crosstraining.

 

This should have me well prepared for the Monson Memorial Classic, on Sunday. That is a road Half-Marathon with tons of hills. I've listed my possible runs as 'up-to's to emphasize that I won't run my foot into further injury. My residual fitness should be just fine for a PR at Monson on Sunday, if I only run once between now and then. I am capable of restraint. For instance, on Saturday, before the 5 mile race, my son and I hiked Mt. Tom (hardly running at all) for a great batch of foliage shots ...