Emily and I are aiming for a half-marathon together next spring, with a shorter-term goal of doing the Camp Letts turkey trot Thanksgiving Day. (I did this run last year with Tim and MJ. By “with” I mean I ran behind them at an ever-increasing interval.)
This is our first training run together and my first real run since hurting my foot in March. Here’s hoping for continued absence of pain. We’re starting very slow and plan to eventually work up to slow.
Charlottesville Marathon
Tim and Mackenzie both finished Charlottesville strong and feeling good. Mackenzie was the youngest participant and, reportedly, dropped her dad around the 23 mile mark (no mercy) and finished at 4:12. Tim very shortly after at 4:15. Fantastic! I’m happy they made it and had a great time in the process!
Official results here.
I got to the diagnostic center last weekend and just got a clean result from the xrays.
Three views reveal anatomic alignment and no acute skeletal abnormality.
That means either it’s not a stress fracture or it’s so minor that a real man wouldn’t even notice…er, I mean a regular xray won’t show it. Since the pain is way down, I’m going to pass on the higher-radiation bonescan that might show a really teeny fracture.
While the xray didn’t show a fracture…
There are mild degenerative changes in the first interphalangeal joint.
…apparently I have the beginnings of arthritis in my big toe. Joy.
The foot is still painful and I haven’t run on it since the 16 miler. From friends’ descriptions it doesn’t sound like textbook plantar fasciitis and I’ve never had a stress fracture so I don’t know what it feels like. For the time being I’m not running on it and planning to see someone about it this week.
The pain is sharp but only when I roll forward on the ball of my foot. It does affect my walking gait and it would be too painful to run on. So far biking and swimming don’t bother it, so I can keep occupied.
I’m really bummed. Since this is such a critical period for my marathon on April 9th, it’s looking very unlikely right now.
Out and back on the trusty Baltimore & Annapolis Trail. We seriously shoe-horned this run into everyone’s busy schedules.
We finally started about 6pm Sunday night, knowing it would be close to three hours to finish. Another reason the B&A is an easy choice: easy to run in the dark. I don’t really know how risky the neighborhoods are as you get closer to the mall and airport but we figured three able bodies made for an inopportune target. We definitely had the trail to ourselves!
This was my second 16 mile run and worlds, galaxies even, better than the first. The first was solo and easily the worst, hardest, and possibly most satisfying run I’ve ever done.
I was spent at the end but not feeling bad. The bad news is a pain in my left foot, which I now know was there after last week’s 13 miles, got slowly worse over the course of the run. The day after last week’s run I felt it but it wasn’t painful, didn’t last long, and was then barely noticeable so I didn’t think anything of it. Now I know it’s something more. It was bordering on pain by the end of the run and the next morning it was a sharp stab when I rolled over the ball of my foot. It’s less painful today but definitely affects even my walking gait so I’m probably going to skip the mid-week runs and see what happens.
Worst. Post-run. Pic. Ever.
We ran the Naval Academy grounds, over the Academy bridge, out to Greenbury Point and back, adding a little bit around downtown Annapolis at the end.
Can you say downpour? We were supposed to run 16 today but I wasn’t up for it. I’m glad I’m such a non-endurance athlete: the storm was a little later than forecast but we got a good soaking out of it. It rained the whole time but at least it wasn’t freezing. I was in shorts and a windbreaker and only felt chilled for the 15 minutes we were exposed to the bay breeze on the east side of Greenbury.
Otherwise it was a serviceable run and we both had a good time.
Mackenzie is taking the week off to make sure some hip pain is not serious. She’s seriously active, even for a fifteen year old. She’ll often do our long runs with us midday and then go to swim practice for an hour. Yikes.
New shoes feel good. The old pair was definitely a half-size too small.
This was a good run. We used the B&A again because it’s brainless; easy to plan, easy to execute. And it was fast! I’m sure this is the fastest long run I’ve managed. 9:37/mile! Yeehaa. I was feeling pressed the last two miles but it was completely manageable.
The fuelbelt is working well. I’m satisfied with the Hammer HEED and Perpetuem combo. It only has three bottles totalling 21 ounces though, so I think I’m a little behind the overall hydration curve. Have to work on that. Self-supported long runs will require some planning. I’m sure the marathon will have plenty of liquids on-course so no worries there.
The pictures were challenging, and fortunately comical, this time so I’m posting them all. (At least we enjoy it.)
Whoa. Let's try again without the acid.
Mackenzie going with the blinky look
Eyes wide open. And did my arm get longer?
Worst run ever. I’m new to marathon running. “Everyone has at least one bad run per event.” This was mine. I hope.
Might be because of the hills. Or the cold, wet, grey, anti-motivating weather. Or missing my running buddies.
Doesn’t matter. It was the hardest run I’ve ever done. And for that reason maybe the most fulfilling. I hope not to be this fulfilled again.
One interesting thing is I was able to find 16 miles in my local neighborhoods without too much out-and-back or re-looping. I think I used every road there is.
…or “My longest run ever”
This is officially the longest run I’ve ever done. (I promise not to keep saying that for every new long run I do from now until April 9th. That would get boring and repetitive and generally go against my practice of being exciting and original.) My longest run to date had been the half-marathon at the end of the Eagleman Ironman 70.3 triathlon. And for those of you paying attention, I walked almost half of that. So my longest sustained run to date was the 12 mile training run leading up to that tri. Yay me.
I met Larry at his house and we started from there. He only had 6.5 on the docket for the day, having done his long run yesterday, and had a good loop in mind. We chatted for the first loop and generally enjoyed catching up. Back at his house he peeled off and I did another loop. It was a little challenging with no sidewalks and road shoulders full of snow banks but the traffic was light and courteous.
It felt good. It’s the first long run I’ve done without my training buddies, my good friend Tim and his daughter Mackenzie, and I look forward to running with them again in two weeks. (I’m traveling for work next weekend so will have to really run on my own for the first time. 14 miles somewhere in Manhattan. Anyone know a good route in the park?)
Garmin data is here. (I was getting bogus heart rate data most of the run. I think that means there’s something wrong with my chest strap transmitter or the Garmin unit itself…hopefully not something wrong with my heart. I’m not that good an athlete.)
I love it when it’s 26 degrees and the B&A Trail is mostly empty. But I have no wish to train in a place where that is considered warm.
In St. Paul, MN they’re just wired differently. -19 wind chill. Impressive.
