Sometimes stronger, sometimes utter destruction.

Previous Posts

I reviewed Blaine Moore’s Comprehensive Guide to Marathon Preparation and Recovery.  I should probably look for it and give it a second read.  Africa has many things going for it, including its natural beauty.  I started (twice) the 100 Pushup Challenge but never made it.  Foto Friday was of a Superior Hiking Trail sign from vacation.  Last year I did a monthly highlight post.  Which do you like better monthly or weekly?

Last Year’s Mileage

Run: 26.0 Miles
Bike: 37.0 Miles

This Year’s Training

Monday was a scheduled rest day.  Due to some meetings I even drove to work!  Tuesday was a group training workout on a 0.75 mile loop in the Tangletown neighborhood of Minneapolis. We ran 3 hills in this loop.  I did 3 loops while most everyone else did 4 or 5.  They wore me out and I didn’t want to push too hard on my first hill workout back.  With the foot taped it felt pretty good.  Below is the elevation chart.   And if you insist here are my 3 times 5:48, 6:10, 6:03 for a total of 6.5 miles in 52:39.

On Wednesday I had a 7:30 meeting and then an evaluation appointment with a physical therapist at the Institute of Athletic Medicine.  The appointment proved that I do indeed have Plantar Faciitis and also some muscle imbalance, especially in my pelvis.  So I learned some exercises to work on strengthening the weak muscles, which should help my foot as well as using an ultrasound on my foot.  When I woke up on Thursday I actually felt very tired still, yet I couldn’t (physically) fall back asleep.  So I got up and did some yoga and my physical therapy exercises.  They are surprisingly tough.  The plan is to strengthen the muscles supporting my pelvis, which will “fix” my left leg and make it work properly.  With the amount of tiredness I felt, I opted to not run.  Ugh another 0 in the book.

I had a finite window of time, on Friday, between waking up (finally feeling refreshed) and a breakfast meeting.  It was plenty of time to get an easy 6 miles or so in, so I started off planning to do the Minneapolis Riverfront loop on a pretty nice morning (55, sunny, and humid).  I hadn’t done it in awhile, so I thought what the heck.  I felt terrible right off the bat. My foot hurt really bad and I felt sluggish (as often occurs after a few days of not running).  My foot pain slowly diminished and I felt a little better as I started running along the river road.  There are several options to shorten the run – which I should have taken.  Each time I thought, I can make it, just a little further.   I walked for the first time at 3.5 miles.  I had no energy, my legs were tired, and I felt pretty blah.  I walked for a little bit, got some water, and started running again.  I felt worse instead of better and decided to take a more direct way home.  Then I walked.  I reset my watch because I didn’t want the Garmin to get all screwy.  I was a good 2.5 miles from home, no phone and no bus money.  I walked for quite awhile but soon realized I wouldn’t make it back in time so I ended up running 1.5 miles (cutting through parking lots and trying to make it as short as possible).  I arrived home safely, but at the time I should have been leaving for breakfast.  I quickly showered and made it on time – foot hurting and very, very discouraged.

Saturday we were driving to see our families and after the run on Friday I was glad to take the time off.  We arrived safely at my Dad’s and after sleeping in on Sunday I went for an easy 4 mile run at Snyder Park in Springfield, OH.  The plan was to run a flat course on grass and see how that went.  I’m content with how the run went I finished right under 32 minutes so 8 minute pace is a lot better than Friday.  Just me and the fishermen.

This Year’s Mileage

Run: 16.2 Miles