Chaire Herodikos Selymbriaios!

Fun race. With the foot acting up I can only run about once or twice a week--can't very well train until it improves, so the S.F. Marathon in July has turned into a pumpkin (i.e., a half). By the time that became clear though I'd already signed up for the Rhody, and was kind of looking it as my last hurrah before an extended period of non-running. Didn't want to go all out and hurt anything else, but thought I'd give a decent effort. Took the first mile at 7:15, and the course's only real incline didn't slow me down much - finally settled in at just about 7:00/mi. A guy from Tacoma liked the pace, and we yakked all the way to mile 7, where I broke away and finished at a 6-minute clip. Broke the tape still accelerating at 12mph according to Garmin. All in all, left a nice taste in my mouth.

Splits:

1	7:14
2	7:01
3	7:40
4	7:03
5	6:53
6	6:55
7	7:03
.53	3:12

HR was mostly in the 160s and low 170s and topped out at 190; averaged 186 on the last half mi.

Postscript: Sped to the car for a quick getaway, hoping to get in a tub of hot water before the heel tightened, but no such luck: ended up hitting the accelerator with my left foot all the way home. So it's crosstraining for a few weeks, then hopefully start working on October's Portland Marathon. And this time train smarter. Errors to avoid: 1) should have dialed down the week after the Whidbey half, rather than up; 2) shouldn't have done intervals and difficult long run on consecutive days; 3) was stretching achilles too hard and calves not enough; 4) ignored aching in arches--could have nipped it in the bud; 5) shoes with more control and less cushioning probably a good idea.

Biked 20.24 mi 17.4 mph avg. Total ascent 2121'.

Z1	2:42
Z2	7:51
Z3	21:57
Z4	49:06
Z5	3:46

Sticking to my resolution to rest the foot for a few weeks is hard. The first 24 hours after the race was pretty bad, then the pain subsided and my body started trying to trick me again into thinking it's better. Went for a long brisk walk yesterday evening to see how that would feel and had to almost physically stop myself from breaking into a trot. But this morning it was sore. So if I want to be running more than once a week looks like this is what I've gotta do.

One thing for sure, when I get back on the horse I'm going to take it a lot slower while I build a mileage base. 9:00 miles feel ugly, but it looks like I wasn't ready for faster times at the higher frequency.

Biked 14.55 mi, avg speed 16.7 mph total ascent 2897 ft avg hr 138 max hr 180.

Had a chat with Julia, who's been rehabbing a strained glute. Misery loves company--but on the other hand she says she was only on the shelf for two weeks (from a 45-50 mi base) and is down an hour on her long runs, so that part was kind of depressing.

Heel inflammation has apparently migrated from the PF to the cruciate crural ligament, I guess from all the abnormal stresses. The lateral edge of the dorsal foot aches from below the ankle on back, but the medial side seems fine. Not too bad, but I have to make sure I'm totally in alignment when I stretch or it seems to get irritated.

Biked to Leschi and straight back over the hill to the ferry. Worked up a pretty good sweat, but stop and go mileage doesn't really count. Dropped by Seattle Running Company for new shoes (Waverider 10s). The Nikes were pretty much dust after little more than a hundred miles--me and Phil Knight are so over, man.

Had an interesting experience in the afternoon. Morning meeting, left a paycheck in a pile of papers. Dawned on me about lunchtime, about had a heart attack (had spent months finagling it out of HMS). Mounted my bike with a running leap and headed back over to the meeting site. Light turned green, rode from a dead stop up the hill past Safeway, about a 4 or 5 percent grade. Looked at my speedometer and I was going 20!

Conclusion: there's power to be had in those muscles. It would be great to be able to harness the adrenaline a bit more consciously, whether on foot or bicycle.

Postscript: they unlocked the door and it was right where I'd left it.