Thursday, April 18, 2019

April finally brings a post!

Wish I could say things have been all sunshine and rainbows but it is not that type of year on the running front.

As a result this is going to be as quick and dirty as inadvertently jumping into toxic sludge. (Think of it as the Cuyahoga River.)

To polish off 2018, Santa (meaning our savings) brought the home a nice new shiny NordicTrack treadmill. Commercial style of course. Primarily, this was to help with a bit of motivation on days I wasn't motivated to run outside or due to time constraints. I started off 2019 good using the treadmill and some outdoor runs to get ready for a 50K down in Delaware in January. HOWEVER, I got hit with another bout of Bronchitis. So unwanted rest there. I was bummed because I was looking to it as part of a tune up to Lone Star 100K.

Complicating matters around Lone Star, I had to go out to Irvine, California for a week. So I had to fly into El Paso, Texas from Philly, then go to Irvine. While flying was all smooth, the timing of it all stressed me out to where I was not ready to tackle hours racing in Franklin Mountains. On the bright side, I did manage to run a 5K in Las Cruces, NM. Sadly, I did not have road racers with me and my time was ugly at 18:05 for 2nd. Having done a 5K did allow me to time to go hiking so I did enjoy that. (Plus, I went to the movies and saw Cold Pursuit. Not the best of Liam Neeson films. You want the best go watch The Grey.)

Being in California, I was excited for some new trails. In fact, I picked my lodging based on the proximity to trails. Yet, with my luck, nearly all were closed due to recent weather. I did manage to get on some but not with the extent I want. It also impacted a 5 mile trail race I had considered running. It changed into a road race so I opted for other activities. (Like visit the Nixon Library and the Fullerton Arboretum.)

Not much between that span in February until late March when I had the Phillies 5K. It was great to do with my neighbors. Not being at the top of my game was evident here as I ran 17:34 for 6th. Last time I did the race I was a minute faster for 2nd. Positively, I was faster than back in Las Cruces.

Just a few weeks ago, I ran an okay 17:15 for a 1st in a 5K over at Rutgers-Camden. I was happy with it because the course was changed from the past and it was long and had tighter turns. (The kind that required a throttle up and down of pace.) Coming off this, I felt fairly good going into last weekend's race in Connecticut, Traprock 50K. I'd done the race previously so I knew to expect some real challenging terrain. Also, I opted to drive up after the business day on Thursday and work remote on Friday. A 4 hour drive can be stressful for me in a case like this. So by driving up and staying an extra night, I was working to keep anxiety and stress down. In this regard, I think I did the job as I got up and made the race start fine.

HOWEVER!

The evening before Traprock, I was walking across the hotel room and injured myself in one of the most absurd manners. What happened was I was lifting my right foot but my big toe decided to 'velcro' itself to the floor so as the foot moved, the toe bent and jammed back into the rest of the foot. It hurt, A LOT! It felt worse then stubbing my toe. Guess, I would compare it with the initial ouch of a bad ankle sprain. Stupid toe region hurt even in my sleep. Still, I stepped to the line doing my best to not think about it.

Immediately as the race started, I did my best to run like usual but was constantly thinking about my foot. Doing mental system checks. I was managing for a good while on the first of three loops until I no longer wasn't. Basically, I had to stop running and walk due to the pounding. When I reached that point, I knew my day was done. I tried to initially switch into a different pair of shoes before throwing in the towel but they would not have done the trick. Sad, to be honest, as I thought my foot placement in the rocky sections was spot on. Still my main worry was a stress fracture or worse. And I had a 4 hour drive home with the same foot as my driving foot!

Anyways, that brings me to the past few days....

Been wearing shoes where the sole doesn't mend so I'm not bending my right foot much. Been able to walk. Have opted to not run right now and admit, it is making me a tad stir crazy. Considering, the top of my foot still hurts with pressure, it is not without the realm of reason that I didn't do something to my first metatarsal.  Just hoping a week or two of down time in conjunction with footwear that won't aggravate things is the proper remedy.

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