Thanks, Larry! It was a great run! I didn't start out grateful. We didn't have a plan for today's run, but my goals were: 1. Get to 40 miles for the week...finally back to where I was before the PF pain started. 2. Get in 12-14 miles as a stepping stone toward 20+ milers I need to start getting in soon. 3. Get home before 10:00am to watch LDS General Conference. Larry wasn't aware of my goals and suggested a selection of tough uphills starting by going up 2000 North. Wayne suggested we also run some of the trail we ran last week. So off we went. I started thinking...It took us 2:15 to run a 10 mile similar route last week because of all the steep uphill. I started thinking that all three of my goals were suddenly at risk. With all the slower uphills, I didn't think I'd be able to get in the 10 miles I needed in the less than 2 hours I had to run.
I asked Larry what prompted him to suggest all the uphills. I guess I sounded like a whiner, because I was told (not by Larry) that I could run whatever/wherever I want, and that I should be more positive. I felt pretty bad so I dropped it and decided to just go with the flow.
At the top of the first big hill we stopped to wait for everyone to get to the top. I decided it was silly for me to stop when I wanted more miles. I decided to just keep running and double back at appropriate points to rejoin everyone else while still getting in a little extra distance. That plan worked out well through the rest of the run. I ended up having a very enjoyable run. The training on the hills and trail were good prep for the Squaw Peak 50 in a couple of months, and I managed to meet all three of my goals. I didn't get in 12-14 miles, but I feel the effort I expended was equivalent to a level 12-14 mile run. I'm still feeling some PF pain, but it didn't bother me during the run, and it doesn't seem to be getting worse running on it, and has even been feeling a little better. I messed up and missed my podiatrist appointment on Thursday (I thought it was on Friday) so now I have to wait two weeks for the next open appointment slot to pick up my orthotic, unless there is a cancellation. I'm still hopeful spring weather will come to stay soon.
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