I'm over a week back into running and my foot seems to be holding up pretty well. It was a little sore after my 11 mile run on Saturday, but that didn't last very long. In fact, as long as I am moving (walking or running), my foot seems to feel fine, it only really starts to bother me when I do a lot of standing around. I did buy a new pair of running shoes, Saucony Omni 13s. They are a stability shoe with a solid mid-sole and good arch supports to help prevent over pronation while running. I wore them for the first time on a 5 mile run yesterday and they felt great. I'm hoping to break them in well enough for my next race.
The return of cool weather was welcome after a few days of 90 degree temperatures early last week. The one down side has been the relentless wind over the weekend that kept me off of my bike. It is hard to imagine, but the outdoor triathlon season kicked off in Iowa over the weekend with the Hickory Grove Triathlon. Had I not been planning on running a marathon in June, there is a good chance I would have signed up for that race but with the weather that we had, I'm glad I didn't. Brrrrrr!
I'm still really bummed about missing out on running the marathon, but have been putting my triathlon training program together for the summer and that has lifted my spirits some. I'm hoping for some warmer weather in the next couple of weeks to get the local lake temperatures up to allow for open water swimming. I purchased a swim buoy to use while swimming in open water. It will help me be more visible as well as contains a dry storage compartment to take things with me out in the water. I'm hoping that I can also attach my Garmin watch to it for more accurate estimates of the distance that I am swimming.
It is less than 2 weeks until Erin runs the Dam to Dam and she has been crushing it lately. The past 2 weekends she has completed long runs of 11 and 12 miles with ease. I'm very excited for her to run this race and continue to build her running confidence. As a side note, she has also discovered my stash of sports beans and fallen in love. Gels and endurance chews have never really sat well with her while running, but the sports beans seem to do the trick. She is lucky I'm willing to share.
I have a lot of coworkers that will be running the Dam to Dam half marathon this year as well, including my Thursday running partner, Megan. It is going to be a very exciting weekend and I'm hoping for good weather.
Tuesday, May 23, 2017
Tuesday, May 16, 2017
Running Again
The past couple of weeks has really done a number on my confidence. My mind has gone to some dark places at times and I REALLY missed running. The good news is that after taking a week and a half off, I am back after it. With my doctor suggested shoe inserts in my running shoes, I headed out on Sunday evening to test out the foot. The run went very well and my foot was fine, although I could tell I had not been running in awhile. I put in 5 miles yesterday evening and another 4 1/2 miles today after work (I cut it a half mile short due to the extreme heat. At this point I would say that my foot is at about 85%. It feels fine while I run but is a little sore for awhile after I finish.
After a conversation with Erin on Monday, I have decided to pull out of the marathon. This was not a decision that I took lightly as I know I will feel some regret. I have logged a lot of miles to get to where I am, and I almost got there, but at this point I feel that there is more downside then upside in trying it. There will be more opportunities to run a marathon, and when it happens, like with all of my other races, I will be well prepared and confident going in. My plan is to change my registration to the half marathon, dial back my training a bit over the next few weeks so that I foot can continue to heal and adjust as I progress towards my first triathlon in early July.
Even as I write this, I feel a lot of frustration and sadness, but I know that it will pass with time. For now, I'm just happy to be running again. I hope and I pray that I can avoid further injury going forward so that I can continue to do what I love.
After a conversation with Erin on Monday, I have decided to pull out of the marathon. This was not a decision that I took lightly as I know I will feel some regret. I have logged a lot of miles to get to where I am, and I almost got there, but at this point I feel that there is more downside then upside in trying it. There will be more opportunities to run a marathon, and when it happens, like with all of my other races, I will be well prepared and confident going in. My plan is to change my registration to the half marathon, dial back my training a bit over the next few weeks so that I foot can continue to heal and adjust as I progress towards my first triathlon in early July.
Even as I write this, I feel a lot of frustration and sadness, but I know that it will pass with time. For now, I'm just happy to be running again. I hope and I pray that I can avoid further injury going forward so that I can continue to do what I love.
Tuesday, May 9, 2017
Injury Update And Next Steps
As I mentioned in my last post, just before running in the Drake Relays Half Marathon, I began experiencing pain in my right foot. More specifically, the pain was in my heel and ran up the inside of my foot. For several days after the race the pain started to increase and become more unbearable. My 3 mile run last Wednesday bothered me so much that I couldn't even imagine completing my 5 mile run on Thursday.
I decided to call the doctor but was unable to get in until Monday morning so I decided to cancel my 19 mile run on Saturday as well. My hope was that giving my foot a few days off might make a difference. Throughout the weekend my foot continued to bother me and I was really starting to worry. I started to prepare myself for the worst by thinking through how I could rework my race schedule to allow my foot to heal without giving up my entire season.
After a few x-rays to rule out a stress fracture, the doctor diagnosed me with Plantar Fasciitis which is simply inflammation along the bottom of the foot between the ball and the heel. There are a lot of potential causes and it is a very common issue for runners (especially runners that are overweight). I discussed the planned marathon with my doctor and he didn't see any issues with me continuing to train and run the race. He told me to rest it as often as I can, use ice and anti-inflammatory medicine, but most importantly he gave me a list of stretches and exercises for my foot and lower leg to do every day. He also suggested a brand of replacement inserts to put in my non-running shoes that will provide additional arch support.
I am happy to say that after just a single day of completing the stretches, I'm already noticing a difference. In addition, I have decided to take the remainder of this week off of running. I am expecting it will take several weeks for the pain to subside, but I am hopeful that it will.
Now to the issue of the race. After talking with a buddy at work that has been training and running races for several years I have decided to modify the remaining 4 weeks of my training program with the intent of completing the marathon. My plan is after taking this week off, to pick things back up next week which includes a 20 mile training run the following Saturday. For that run, I am planning to run in laps around Grimes so that if my foot starts to bother me, i can cut it off and easily get back home. My final decision will fall with that run. If it goes well, I will shoot for the stars and try the full marathon, if it doesn't, I will get my registration switched to the half marathon so that I will still be able to run a race that day.
To say this situation has been stressful and disappointing is an understatement. To most it may seem like a silly race, but to me, this is my life and has been for the past 4 years. There are so many goals that I have left to accomplish and I am a bit worried about what this may mean for my future. For now, I'm trying to take it one day at a time and doing everything in my power to get back on track. I will persevere and I will succeed!
I decided to call the doctor but was unable to get in until Monday morning so I decided to cancel my 19 mile run on Saturday as well. My hope was that giving my foot a few days off might make a difference. Throughout the weekend my foot continued to bother me and I was really starting to worry. I started to prepare myself for the worst by thinking through how I could rework my race schedule to allow my foot to heal without giving up my entire season.
After a few x-rays to rule out a stress fracture, the doctor diagnosed me with Plantar Fasciitis which is simply inflammation along the bottom of the foot between the ball and the heel. There are a lot of potential causes and it is a very common issue for runners (especially runners that are overweight). I discussed the planned marathon with my doctor and he didn't see any issues with me continuing to train and run the race. He told me to rest it as often as I can, use ice and anti-inflammatory medicine, but most importantly he gave me a list of stretches and exercises for my foot and lower leg to do every day. He also suggested a brand of replacement inserts to put in my non-running shoes that will provide additional arch support.
I am happy to say that after just a single day of completing the stretches, I'm already noticing a difference. In addition, I have decided to take the remainder of this week off of running. I am expecting it will take several weeks for the pain to subside, but I am hopeful that it will.
Now to the issue of the race. After talking with a buddy at work that has been training and running races for several years I have decided to modify the remaining 4 weeks of my training program with the intent of completing the marathon. My plan is after taking this week off, to pick things back up next week which includes a 20 mile training run the following Saturday. For that run, I am planning to run in laps around Grimes so that if my foot starts to bother me, i can cut it off and easily get back home. My final decision will fall with that run. If it goes well, I will shoot for the stars and try the full marathon, if it doesn't, I will get my registration switched to the half marathon so that I will still be able to run a race that day.
To say this situation has been stressful and disappointing is an understatement. To most it may seem like a silly race, but to me, this is my life and has been for the past 4 years. There are so many goals that I have left to accomplish and I am a bit worried about what this may mean for my future. For now, I'm trying to take it one day at a time and doing everything in my power to get back on track. I will persevere and I will succeed!
Saturday, April 29, 2017
Drake Relays Half Marathon
This morning I ran in the Drake Relays Half Marathon. It was cold and windy but luckily the rain held off until after the race. I got down to the Drake campus an hour early to get some good parking. While out warming up I managed to run into my wife's aunt Lisa who was doing the 5k and a friend from work who was also running the half marathon.
I ended up running extremely well. This was my 5th half marathon but it was the first time that I didn't fade late in the race. In fact I was able to finish extremely strong and record a new half marathon PR. My official time was 2:16:39 which beat my previous PR by nearly 3 minutes (set at the QC Half Marathon last September).
I ended up running extremely well. This was my 5th half marathon but it was the first time that I didn't fade late in the race. In fact I was able to finish extremely strong and record a new half marathon PR. My official time was 2:16:39 which beat my previous PR by nearly 3 minutes (set at the QC Half Marathon last September).
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| I really liked the finisher medals |
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| A unique route included a lot of roads I had never run on before |
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| All smiles post race |
Of course there is a bit of bad news coming out of the race. I've been experiencing some heel and arch pain in my right foot over the past week. Although my foot held up well during the race, it was pretty sore afterwords. I'm not too concerned yet as I went through something pretty similar when I started running a few years ago. At that time I was able to use some Dr. Scholls insoles to alleviate the issue. I picked up a pair today and my feet are already starting to feel better. Hopefully a few weeks of wearing the insoles will give my foot time to heal.
For now, it is time to rest up, recover, and get back after it. Only 6 weeks until the marathon and 10 weeks until my first triathlon.
Thursday, April 27, 2017
Update And Burn Out
It has been a couple weeks since my last update so I thought it was time for another post. Since my last post I have completed both a 17 and 18 mile long run and both went fairly well. My marathon is 6 weeks from Saturday, but this week I am focused on the Drake Relays Half Marathon. The race starts at 7:30 am on Saturday and the forecast is calling for cold temperatures with a chance of rain. I'm not anticipating running a PR due to the type of training that I am doing, but I do want to run a strong race.
I'm also hoping that this race will help with another issue that I've been facing. For the past couple of weeks burn out has really started to set in. I think I've finally found my limits when it comes to running. At this point I'm just trying to hang on until the marathon so that I can cut way back on the mileage that I'm running. At this point, I just think the marathon distance just isn't for me. Maybe sometime in the future I will get back into it, but I could very well be a one and done marathoner.
On that note, the miles have really started to pile up. I pulled my total mileage for the year from Garmin Connect to see how I'm doing towards my goals and I was surprised at where I'm at. Not even 4 months in and I'm averaging over 100 miles per month, well ahead of where I need to be to do my part towards our goal of 2,017 miles.
I'm also hoping that this race will help with another issue that I've been facing. For the past couple of weeks burn out has really started to set in. I think I've finally found my limits when it comes to running. At this point I'm just trying to hang on until the marathon so that I can cut way back on the mileage that I'm running. At this point, I just think the marathon distance just isn't for me. Maybe sometime in the future I will get back into it, but I could very well be a one and done marathoner.
On that note, the miles have really started to pile up. I pulled my total mileage for the year from Garmin Connect to see how I'm doing towards my goals and I was surprised at where I'm at. Not even 4 months in and I'm averaging over 100 miles per month, well ahead of where I need to be to do my part towards our goal of 2,017 miles.
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| Over 400 miles in |
Today marked the end of another pair of running shoes as well. Looking back over the 96 runs that I did in these shoes there were some good memories. These were the shoes that I wore for the Des Moines Marathon Relay, the Turkey Trot 5k, and Leprechaun Chase 10k (actually 5k).
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| 401.2 miles over 9 months |
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| Newly retired shoes |
As I retired these shoes, I noticed that my "new" shoes already have 150 miles on them. With over 6 weeks of training to go, I quickly ordered a new pair of shoes to begin breaking in. I decided to deviate from the trail runners that I have been using for the past 4 years but did stick with New Balance brand shoes. The road running shoes are suppose to have better soles and arch supports. I'm excited to see how well they work for me.
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