Before I started to develop PF in my right foot, I had signed up for the annual Half Road/Half Trail 8k (i.e., a Sports-AM race) in order to get some trail racing experience before the Xterra Trail Nationals next month in Bend, Oregon. Plus, since last year was a complete downpour, we were unable to do the trail part due to safety concerns. I have never run this trail up City Creek, so I was really looking forward to good weather and the trail-running opportunity.
I woke up before 6:00 am and stretched out my foot, which still felt a little sore, but not bad. After putting on my racing gear and completing my non-running routine (i.e., 300 sit-ups and 30 push-ups), I headed out by jogging a half of a mile over to the UTA stop to take the bus downtown. I got off at the Cathedral of the Madeline and ran up B Street to the road that loops around to the front of City Creek Canyon. Compared to last year’s wind and rainstorm, the weather was perfect as I ascended through the Avenues up to the mouth of the Canyon. At the starting line, I picked up my bib number and timing chip before making final preparations.
Just before the 8:00 start, James--the race director--announced there was a change in the race. However, this year it was not about closing down the trail part, but we were going to run up the trail and down the road. From a safety and race perspective, this made total sense.
From the start, I set the pace; that is, unlike last year, there was no 2:27 marathoner leading the way. So I just tried to use my Garmin to push myself. Due to the trail aspect of this year’s race, I knew my 27:07 time from last year was not going to be broken. In addition, even though my right foot seemed to loosen up as I pushed myself forward, I was playing it a little conservative in order to not aggravate it anymore than necessary. Consequently, my splits were as follows: 7:41, 7:54, 6:42, 5:32, and 2:42 (this last one was basically a half-mile split; that is, according to my watch this course is basically four tenth of a mile shorter than an 8k). All of my splits were slower than last year, but it was a heck of a workout (i.e., a good mile of the trail was overgrown, which made for some fun running/bushwhacking) and I survived without further irritating my foot! Also, it was fun to cheer on my fellow Saturday-morning runners at they crossed the finish line and posted some impressive times.
Following the post-race festivities, I ran at an easy pace back to home by way of the State Capital Building and stopping by Liberty Park to run two laps on the woodchip trail. Consequently, I was able to run an extra 11.4 miles; however, my right suffered from a few muscle cramps over the last few miles forcing me to stop and stretch it out. | 