Tendonitis?

I don't get running injuries. Little niggles perhaps, but I don't remember the last (non ankle twisting) running injury I had. And let's face it - I really tested that theory out last year.

So I'm sitting here with my foot wrapped in an ice pack hoping this is just another little niggle.

Here's the deal - I noticed some sharp pain in my left instep during yesterday's 13 miler, but honestly didn't think too much about it. But when I got up this morning to go run Bull Creek it certainly got my attention - I got out of the car and wondered if I would even be able to run. But me being me I figured I'd give it a shot. I was able to complete the run ok, but it was in no way comfortable.

When I got home I took Gavin and Dylan for a walk around the neighborhood and found myself limping (though on the plus side it was a beautiful morning). I'm hoping it will settle down and I'll be able to do 11 miles of hills along Stratford and Scenic tomorrow morning, but it's still pretty tender.

It feels suspiciously like tendonitis, but I don't have all the classic symptoms and it seems to be pretty mild. I think I can trace it back to one of the strength workouts I did last week, and I believe the culprit to be jumping lunges. I don't even know why I did them because I usually modify them - only the day before I was telling a buddy of mine what an injury magnet they were!!!

I did some yoga and another strength workout this afternoon, but I was real careful not to stress or stretch that foot too much. I have a 22 miler with my road group next Saturday and the last thing I need is a foot injury.

But here's the funny thing - after searching for my motivation for weeks, a potential injury really stokes my stubborn nature. The little voice in my head is saying "go on, run anyway".

And when it comes to running, the danger is that little voice usually gets the better of common sense.

Holy Sock Batman

Yes,that's my big toe sticking out there. Finished my run this morning and noticed that not only did I have a huge hole in my shoe, I also had a huge hole in my sock.

My double layer sock!!!

Guess it's time to break out another pair of road shoes and buy some more socks!!!

Resolutions

My new year's resolution this year was to do all I could to run to my potential, something I haven't been doing for a while. Back when I was running my best I was doing my runs in the morning and adding on aerobic weights workouts in the evening. They didn't have to be very long - only 20 minutes or so - but they kicked my metabolism into high gear and made a huge difference. I want to get back to that so I took a look at all the workout dvds I had, made a list of the new ones I wanted, and wrote myself a training schedule. I have it mapped out all the way to the Little Rock marathon, and will extend it further when I add more races (and I have a few in mind).

Yesterday I kicked it off with one of my Jillian Michaels workouts. Annoying rubber-faced pixie she may be, but she is also one kick-ass trainer as my arms and hamstrings will attest. 20 minutes of squats, lunges, curls and crunches left me a twitching pile of sweat and slobber.

Running midweek mornings is slightly more problematic. Gavin has taken to creeping into our room in the middle of the night, climbing into bed with us and cuddling up with me. I have so far been unable to muster up the willpower to dislodge him and go run.

I need that extra motivation to get up, so if any of you dear readers feel the need to get up at 4:30am to go run 8 miles, let me know.

Brass Monkeys

There's a saying back in the old country - "it's cold enough to freeze the balls off brass monkeys". That certainly applied to this morning's run as it was 16F (-9C) at the start (I know many of you in our more Northern climes are laughing at that, but hey, that's tundra-type weather for Texas).

If you know me, you know that I never run in anything but shorts and t-shirt. But this morning I did make the concession of wearing gloves. I'm sure everyone else who was bundled up in hats, coats, scarves etc thought I was crazy, but hey, that's what works for me. It was really cold for the first few miles - my fingers and toes were numb and my ears hurt - but after that I warmed up and the rest of the run was ok.

Except for my handheld water bottle which froze solid within two miles and never thawed out for the rest of the run!!! I'm kinda glad I gave Bandera a miss this year.

My parents are still here, but leave on Tuesday. Which means that Wednesday I start training properly for the Little Rock marathon. As a little extra incentive, I got an email this morning to confirm I've been seeded in corral B based on several of my 2009 marathon times.

I also need to ensure I'm in shape for pacing duties, as I've agreed to pace a buddy for the last 40 miles of Rocky Raccoon. He's in the same place I was last year, about to run his first 100 miler and his training is going really well. I'm honored to have the opportunity to help him cross the finish line, and I think he'll do great.

Pacing is something of a science - you have to know when to push your runner and when to pull back, when to leave them be, when to encourage and when to bully. The other requirement is the ability to talk and to stay positive, which I can certainly do - I have a ready supply of stories and anecdotes to keep us going.

I just hope it warms up a bit!!!

Resolutions set in Small Stone?

I just had a great idea - in 2010 I want to actually train for and run a fast marathon again. My speed suffered in the latter half of 2009 as I focused on Cactus Rose and a new baby took priority. I didn't even do my long runs at pace as I mostly played sweeper for my road group and ran within myself, while all my marathons were written off as training runs.

It's been quite a while since I trained specifically for a speedy marathon, but I think it's time to have another go.

And it's also been a while since I prepared properly for one (almost exactly a year in fact). If I'm honest, I've been treading water for the last few months and not really pushing myself. I need to start doing some strength training again and inject a little more focus into my running (ie. actually do some of my midweek runs).

And I wonder how fast I could run if I hydrated and carb-loaded beforehand. Hey, another great thought - what if I used some gels during the race?

If I do all that, maybe I'll have a chance of getting under 3:30 as opposed to playing around with 3:50 and 4 hour marathons. A year ago I could knock out marathons like 5ks and be ready to go again the next day. I want to get back to that.

Will all that in mind, I just signed up for the Little Rock marathon in Arkansas on March 7th. I think that's a good goal to aim toward, and gives me enough time to get ready.

I also want to compare their "big medal" with the one from the Texas marathon.

Should be fun.

Comedy Finish at the Texas Marathon

For some reason, this picture of Nancy and I with our big medals makes me think of Jacob Marley and his chains!!!

Nancy and I successfully avoided all the drunk drivers and drove up to Kingwood REALLY EARLY this morning to run the Texas marathon. I drove the first part, but I've been up late most nights for the past few weeks working on a design project, so when Nancy offered to drive the rest of the way I just crashed in the passenger seat.

The course for this marathon is four loops of the beautiful trails of Greentree park (two for the half that Nancy was running). I set my marathon PR at this race last year, but was not expecting to get anywhere close to that time today.

I ran the first few miles with Ryan Beard, and the rest of the race by myself. The first two loops passed by without much incident, but I ran into a few problems on the third. I had not hydrated properly in the week prior to the race (unless you count beer), and was too lazy to make Gatorade the day before. I paid for this when my calf started cramping around mile 18. I would be running along without any problem when it would suddenly lock up completely and spasm. This usually hit in the split second after I'd passed someone, which meant I kept having to stop and work it out.

This happened on and off for the rest of the race. I kept downing Gatorade at the aid stations in the hopes that it would help, and it did a little. I flirted with the 4 hour mark, but was a day late and a dollar short as I finished about a minute over 4 hours.

The funny thing was that as I came up the finishers chute with everyone cheering me in, my calf completely locked up. I tried to compensate with my other leg and keep going, but then the other calf locked up too. I ended up stiff legging it across the line, which must have been hilarious to watch.

But I guess that's what you get for doing zero training in the weeks leading up to the race, eating all kinds of junk, staying up late and not drinking enough (water). Oh well, considering everything I'm happy with the time. And I did enjoy the course.

Plus the pizza afterwards was delicious!!!

I particularly enjoyed sharing the trail with Nancy. I stopped and hugged her every time we passed, and she had a blast on the half. It's been many years since we were able to run a race like this together.

I would love to have a lie-in tomorrow, but I can't. My road group is running 30k, so I'll be back out there making up for my lack of recent miles with another 19.

Happy New Year everyone!!!