Bret

AM - 3 miles easy with Delaney and then 45 mins of core/strength/plyos.  Felt rested after taking yesterday off for Father's day and eating way too much junk that my girls baked for me.  Planning to do my long run this evening if the timing works out.

PM - 20.00 miles on the treadmill after work at the gym.  Kept the pace at 7:30 for the entire run - only jumped off twice to get water.  Mentally brutal, but with comfortable climates inside as opposed to 90 + degrees with humidity, physically this allowed me to run a more reasonable pace. 

AM - 3.5 miles easy with Delaney this morning.  First mile was slow as I had some stiffness from yesterday evening's long run and noticed some tightness/soreness over the first metatarsal on the left foot.  Nothing serious, it seems, but will keep an eye on it.  Delaney has struggled a bit in the last couple of runs.  It is quite warm and humid though.  Two more weeks and she heads to a running camp.  She's still in the first two weeks of her summer training - I think once she gets a couple more weeks of training and maybe sheds a few pounds, her efforts will be less labored.

PM - lunchtime run outdoors (heat index 98) - 5.0 miles easy.  Wanted to run on heavy tired legs and hot conditions to help prep for the Des News race at the end of July.  Mission accomplished. 

PM - lunchtime run on the treadmill - 10 miles at 7:30 pace.  Was a very comfortable and stress-free effort.  Have some post workout discomfort in the top of the left foot - still keeping an eye on it.  Was going to do a workout this morning, but felt very "off" when I awoke and after about 30 mins of trying to get started (and I never actually started), I went back to bed for about an hour.  In the past I would have pushed ahead, but I am trying to pay more attention to what my body is telling me.  The extra rest seemed to do me right.

Delaney went to the gym to run and workout and hitched a ride with Riley on her way to her morning swim workout.

AM - Core/plyos workout for 45 mins - then started to run with Delaney, but noticed some more serious feeling discomfort on top of my left foot (which I first noticed beginning on Monday) - so after a couple of mins I decided to stop and turn back - fearing a recurrence of a stress fracture I had a couple of years ago.  I recall reading where college trainers will advise a player/athlete to sit out of training for a week or two if they begin having pain on the top their feet, better to allow the foot a rest for a short time than to aggravate and cause a fracture resulting in a prolonged recovery.   I am completely weight bearing with no other symptoms so I think I will give it a day or two before I test it again.  Noticed some discomfort in the foot about a month or so ago, and it subsided after about a week of easy running in proper running shoes.   Optimistic that I may have the same results again (noting that I put some more significant mileage in this week than a month ago). 

So, I took most of Thursday off and all of Friday from running to allow my left foot to have some recovery time in case there is a developing stress fracture there.  About 95% of the discomfort I noticed on Thursday morning was all but gone and though I was tempted to run on Friday, I held off until today. 

We travelled to Tracy's hometown, Moundsville WV, for her annual family reunion on her father's side of the family - the Emery's, late last night.  Some flight delays and logistical issues at the airport had me getting to bed at around 2 am - at which point Delaney begged off of the planned run together in the morning, claiming she would die without getting enough sleep.

So I got up around 7 am to a pleasant feeling low 60's climate - and eased into a cautious and slow run along a bike trail that parallels the Ohio River.  This past winter this trail was mostly snow covered and a bit harsh - but the nice contrast of today was that it was densely tree covered and full of wildlife and other recreational runners and cyclists.  The foot had some vague twinges of something going on, but nothing like sharp pain or even the discomfort I felt Thursday morning.  I felt pretty heavy legged and clunky for most of the run, not wanting to allow myself to just run as I was ever concerned more intensity would result in injury.  So I kept it easy and enjoyed the scenery.  Ran up through the Narrows to McMechan which is a gradual climb and descent back and forth over a couple of miles. 

So all in all, the run of 10 miles was good, a bit slow and cautious, but no pain or discomfort in the foot during the workout.  I will say there is something going on with the foot but perhaps keeping stressful workouts to a minimum will keep from getting any worse. 

Heading off now to the reunion at Oglebay Park in Wheeling for a day of cover dish meals, cool breezes and volleyball.