Update on the past month

Running has been hit and miss over the last month. I developed what I thought would be a just a minor pain in my left foot just prior to the St. Patrick's Day 8K. I ran the race as the pain was minor and ended up running a PR 27:20, good for 2nd place, though I was never in contention to win the race. I continued to run the week following the race and by the following Thursday, the pain was so bad, I knew I needed some time off. We went on a cruise for spring break and I only went to the gym 2 days, biking 45 minutes each day.

When we got back from break, I was feeling quite a bit better so I decided to go run with the boys during Sunday Service. I made the mistake of going 15 miles. I took the next day off and was able to tally 48 miles for the week, including a 1/2 marathon that I won running a 1:18:36, good for 1st place by 5:30 minutes. I was a little sore but ended up putting in 58 miles the next week, including a 14 miler for Sunday Service. Again, this flared up the foot. I took Monday and Tuesday off and even went for an x-ray. I ran 8 Wednesday with Jeff. The foot hurt so bad Thursday, I took the day off. The results of the x-ray did not show a stress fracture as I suspected but they did encourage me to see my regular doctor and request a MRI. I ran 2.5 miles Friday and then against my better judgement, raced on Saturday. I ran a local 5K in 17:00, good for 3rd place (damn young kids).  For some reason, while racing, I am able to block out the pain but when training or just walking around, the pain is very noticeable.

I have a 1/2 Marathon in Providence this coming Sunday with Kris and then plan to take some time off to let whatever the problem is heal. As much as I would like to run through it, I am going to listen to the opinion of Steve and Sue, 2 runners I have a great deal of respect for. I know they are right! I also plan to contact my Dr to see if he feels an MRI is needed or if we should go the route of rest first. The next race planned is Bayshore at the end of May and that may have to be deferred to 2012 if this pain doesn't go away.

Back from Vacation

It has been a while since my last post so I figured I was due! Over the past couple of weeks, I have had a myriad of slight tweaks. I had a mysterious pain show up about 3 weeks ago in my right foot. As quickly as it came, it left 6 days later. About a week later, a similar pain invaded my left foot. This was 3 days prior to Bay City's St. Pat's Day race and my first 8K in almost 20 years. I ran through the pain and competed in the race, running a 27:20 and good enough for a second place finish. I continued to train through the pain up for a few more days and finally the pain had caused me to change the way I was running and flared up my SI joint on my left side. That was all it took. I shut down for 9 days. I only biked for 2 days, 45 minutes each day. The break did nicely coincide with spring break for my kids and a family vacation via Carnival cruising the Western Carribbean.

We flew out on Friday from Detroit to Miami. We got in about 11pm and headed to the hotel. The next morning, my son could barely contain his excitement to get on the cruise ship and I wasn't far behind him. The cruise stopped in Cozumel, Grand Cayman and Ocho Rios. This was the first vacation in my 14 years as a professional that I did not have a work cell phone or computer with me and it was wonderful! We had great weather, great food, beautiful ports and most importantly, my family and I were having a great time! It was hard knowing that this would probably be the last time we would travel as a family of 4 with my daughter graduating this year.

We returned home last night at 8pm. We had a great trip and began the fun of unpacking. I couldn't wait to log in and see how bad my e-mail was from one week (407 messages, are you kidding me?). I was also excited as I knew it was going to be time for Sunday Service in the morning.

I met up with Badge, James, and Nick shortly before 9am and we headed out. They asked how far I was going to go and it totally depended on my foot. I figured 8 miles would be good. We got to the 4 mile mark and I felt good so I continued. At 5, Badge asked if I was going 15 with him. I sort of laughed and thought there was no way I was going to be able to do that. As we continued, I felt ok so I continued with them. I ended up going 15 in 1:43:35 and the best part was I felt ok at the end. I definitely could tell I hadn't run in 9 days but my lungs seemed fine, legs a bit heavy.

Next up, a 1/2 Marathon next weekend that will be treated as a long run rather than a race!