Back in the saddle?

Today was a blah day.  It was overcast and cool, though-probably well under 80 degrees!  My legs felt beat up, and I had some aches and pains here and there.  The right side of my lower back is really bothering me.  My average pace was 9:55.  After a mental inventory, I realized yesterday was another day of very few carbs.

Yesterday my heel bothered me most of the day.  It was hurting in the same area where my husband's hurts him, and he was recently diagnosed with plantar fasciitis.  His heel is better, but now he thinks he might have a stress fracture.  I read up on plantar fasciitis and realized I have done several things I shouldn't: I ran 16 miles on asphalt on concrete on Saturday, and I ran after wearing heels all day a few times last week.  Then I wore shoes with wooden soles yesterday.  So, no more long runs on asphalt, and today I brought my speedo shower shoes to work.

My motivation is lagging a little bit right now.  I think it's a combination of work stress and a lack of improvement with my average pace.  I will try to do a tempo run this week to gauge my fitness and, hopefully, increase my motivation!  I am VERY thankful for this blog, because it will make me not quit!

The plan was 7 miles, including a long hill.  I woke up early, hit snooze and decided I wasn't going to get up, changed my mind, and got up to get dressed.  Small victory!  Then, I felt a stabbing pain in the ball of my foot.  I tried to stretch it, to no avail.  I am so paranoid about getting injured that I just went back to bed.  Now, at 11:00, it feels better, although I have worn shower shoes to work the past two days.

My husband probably has a stress fracture brought on by plantar fasciitis, so I am freaking myself out too.  How do you know if pain is bad enough to skip a run?  I know the worst thing for pf is to keep running on it.

I won't make it out tonight because I have plans.  Sigh...

I did a tempo/hill run at dusk.  I ran on the canal for .72 miles, then through the neighborhood at Granada Park, across Lincoln, and up Squaw Peak Parkway to the end of the road.  From .72 to 2.73 was uphill, including some BIG uphil, and then downhill from 2.73 to 4.73.  My splits were 9:25 (felt very easy, beginning of slight uphill), 9:46 (more uphill, and had to stop at a traffic light), 9:58 (MAJOR uphill, and then turnaround, .25 mile downhill), 8:05 (felt great), and 8:45 (.27 was barely a shuffle at the end).  For the last .75, I was probably closer to 7:30-7:45 range.  I got a major cramp toward the end, but I made it!

My cooldown was very short, and I walked back to my car.  My foot was already hurting by then.  :-(  Total time was 47:03, average 9:13.

I haven't been too consistent lately, which bothers me.  Part of it is injury paranoia, and part of it is work overload.  I'm hoping next week will set me back on track.

Although I ran fewer miles than I wanted to, I feel good about today's run.  I hope my legs agree in the morning!

No running yet today, but another HUGE milestone!  My weight is below 140 for the first time in almost 2 years!  The needle is just barely under 140, so I probably weigh 139.9 or something.  Now the real challenge: keep the scale there next week while eating lobster rolls!

I feel OK after last night's hill/tempo run.  I had some arch pain, and my left knee hurts a little.  Mainly I am just exhausted! 

A blah run.  I felt fine for the first 5 miles or so and then I really had to slow down.  I was really struggling by the end.  My legs felt really tired, like I had run a tempo run last night instead of two nights ago.  This stress is really taking a toll.  I think I am going to post some questions about it on the message board.

We got some SERIOUS rain last night, so there were puddles and fallen tree branches everywhere.  It was an extra workout to dodge everything!  It was pleasant out, though: probably in the mid-70s or so.

I chopped my hair off the other day (about 8-9 inches).  It's too short to pull back, and my hat is already packed, so I just tucked it behind my ears and went.  Because of the humidity, I looked like a giant frizz ball when I got home!  It was hilarious!  What do you short-haired women do with your hair when you don't have a hat?

Our flight leaves this afternoon.  I am SOOOO ready for a vacation!

Oh, heaven! We are at the beach in Connecticut, and I ran along the ocean and harbor today. I ran in the middle of the day and was only a little warm. It is humid, but not overwhelmingly so. I ran a similar route to last year when I was here. But today I found a new private beach that I had only seen from the water last year when we were kayaking. I'm pretty sure that I won't be allowed on that private beach, though.

The only downside to running here is that it's all concrete/asphalt. The beach was definitely too crowded today, and there are no long stretches of beach. My heel is really bothering me, so I hope it holds up OK. It was only a little tender until my husband started pressing on my heel to find the tender spot,and it has been throbbing ever since (I'm not blaming him. :-) ) There is a 5 mile race tomorrow in the next town, but I don't know where. If I can figure it out, I'll go run it.

We just finished an amazing dinner of mussels, roasted clams, littlenecks, corn on the cob, grilled chicken, grilled lettuce, and skirt steak. We ate outside by the beach. I only had a tiny bit of steak. Not the best pre-race dinner, but it was 100% enjoyable!