Rosswog Running Blog

I’m glad that the Philadelphia Marathon is not one week earlier because my legs sure felt heavy today.  During my run up to Olympus High School where I proceed by following the Salt Lake Marathon course down 2300 East to Holladay Boulevard and 6200 South, my feet felt like blocks of cement.  However, in order to get in a couple of extra miles, on the way down 6200 South I broke it off by doing an up and back to Fort Boulevard before running down to Highland Drive and heading back home by way of Smith’s to pick up some groceries.  My left foot became really sore on my return trip as I developed a few blisters on my toes.  In total, I ran 13.5 miles at a slow and steady pace.  In an attempt to recover, I’ll make sure to put plenty of ice on my legs and especially my left foot tonight.

It was another short and sweet day for my non-running workout in that I just completed 300 sit-ups and 30 push-ups.

For my daily workout, I broke it up between the treadmill and running outside; that is, I completed 1.2 miles on the treadmill and an even 5.0 miles outside.  My main outside run entailed running over to the Smith-Kiln Chimney then up to the old Villa Theater on Highland Drive and back.  Due to my left foot being a little sore, I kept it at an easy pace.

In regards to my non-running workout, it was another 300 sit-up and 30 push-up day.

In short, the soreness in my left foot was a little bit worst today.  As a result, I’m glad it is a tapering week for the Philadelphia Marathon.  Anyways, after work I hit the tread mill for an easy-pace 1.3 mile run.  I then headed home and went out for a short run through Big Cottonwood Park, over to Murray Holladay Road, then up to Highland Drive.  On the way back to home, I felt that I was just running a stub, since the muscles in my left foot seemed to be tensing up and were not reacting to the pavement.  However, I still managed to get cover 4.8 miles at an easy pace. 

For my non-running workout, I was able to get in 300 sit-up, 30 push-ups, 100 (16 lbs) curls.

I dislike running on the elliptical machine because I can really never get into a good rhythm like I can on the treadmill.  However, since my left foot is still pretty tender and sore today, I decided to run on an elliptical for the first time in nearly four years (i.e., since early 2006 according to my workout log).  As a result, I began the day with a 1-mile workout on the elliptical, which seemed to positively stretch out my muscles in my left foot; therefore, relaxing it a little bit. 

During the workday, I consistently kept a bag of ice on my foot, which seemed to further help the issue.  After work, I hit the treadmill for 2.2 miles at an easy pace.  Then I switched it up by hopping on the elliptical for 2.4 miles.

For the third part of my running workout, I headed outside for an evening run to the Smith-Kiln Chimney then up to Harmon’s and back.  The total distance of this run was 4.5 miles at an easy.  Also, my left foot felt a little bit better than yesterday and I was even able to pick up the pace for a short period of time (i.e., on 1100 East I was able to clock a sub-7:00 pace between a couple of telephone poles).

Since I’m sort of in the process of tapering (i.e., still logging the mileage, but keeping it at an easy pace) for Sunday’s race, my non-running workout just consisted of 200 sit-ups and 30 push-ups.

Beginning my week-and-a-half vacation from work on the East Coast, I arrived in wet and dreary Charm City today.  Since my sister and brother-in-law are planning to run the half-marathon on Sunday, I decided to meet up with them in Baltimore then drive up to Philadelphia on with them on Saturday morning.  Even though it was raining outside, I tested out the left foot by running from my sister’s house down 33rd Street to Johns Hopkins where I completed three laps around the University’s track at Homewood Field before heading back.  The total distance of this run was 4.4 miles at an easy pace.  In regards to the tender foot, it felt a little bit better than yesterday, but it was still sore.

For my non-running workout, I completed 200 sit-ups and 30 push-ups before calling it a day in order to ice my foot and get a good night of sleep.

In order to get caught up on my sleep debt, I slept in today.  Consequently, late in the morning, I walked down to Lake Montebello Park and ran one lap around the park’s lake before heading up 33rd Street to Johns Hopkins and ran one lap around the University’s track at Homewood Field before heading back to my sister’s house on Yolanda Drive.  The soreness in my left foot seemed to subside after about four miles; therefore, hopefully, the same will happen in Sunday’s race.  Anyways, the total distance of this run was 5.6 miles at an easy pace.

In regards to my non running workout, I completed 200 sit-ups and 30 push-ups.

This morning, before driving up to Philadelphia, I ran down to Lake Montebello Park and took a lap around the park’s lake then I jogged over to Clifton Park before heading back to my sister’s house.  The total mileage of this run was an even 4.0 miles at an easy pace.  My left foot was actually a little sorer than yesterday; therefore, I’m just hoping the adrenaline of the marathon will make everything feel better.