Back to It

As the title suggests, I am indeed back running again. Four days off apparently did the trick (for the most part) for my foot, and also significantly improved the Plantar Fascitis in my right foot.

Before I get to more about my own running, however, I need to give a shout out to a few of my friends. My friend, coworker, and occasional running-partner Laura won the Mt Carbon Half Marathon in Morrison yesterday. And this morning, my friend and often-times running partner Matt won the Desert Rats Half Marathon in Fruita, running for his dog Etna, who passed away from bone cancer a few days ago. Congratulations are definitely in order!

Also, I suddenly feel the need to get a few races under my belt and give them a run for their money.

I started running again on Wednesday, with the Boulder Running Company fun run. They seem to have bigger names showing up as the year goes on. Scott showed up on Wednesday for the festivities (and the beer!). It's always good to see "Coach Jerk, " as we used to call him at Marshall, out and about. And it provided a bit of extra motivation, not that I needed any.

That run felt pretty good. The bone bruise seems to be mostly healed, and the accompanying joint strain is also getting much better. I ran with the afore-mentioned Laura, which had the dual advantage of providing good conversation and keeping me from pushing up with the leaders, as I normally do. We did ultimately pick up the pace a bit for the last stretch, bringing it down to the low sixes. Again, my foot held up beautifully.

And I have run each day since then. Thursday (my 29th birthday!) and Friday (4/20) were limited to a 4.5 mile jaunt up and down the Canyon, easing myself back into running again after three weeks of low-to-no mileage. Saturday I had originally intended to run the Mt Carbon half, but opted not to. It probably would not have been a good idea for me to push that hard right after coming back from an injury, minor as it was.

Saturday and Sunday were an example of the great importance proper fueling and hydration in running. Saturday I ran later, around 11AM, and had eaten a good breakfast of oatmeal with nuts and dried fruit, and had hydrated properly over the previous night and the morning.

I took a familiar route up in North Boulder: the Eagle and Sage trails. I started out easy, and when I hit the single track continued at what felt to be a very easy pace. I was stunned, therefore, when I looked down at my watch and it told me I was hitting 6:15 pace,  on single track, without even breathing hard. I continued at a good pace through a 20 minute trail 5k, again with little effort. At that point, rather than push back to the car, I took it easy, save for the uphills, which I continued to push. All in all, it was easily the best run I've had since getting back to it.

Sunday was entirely different. I had not hydrated well, and neglected to get a good breakfast in before heading out for an 8 mile run at Teller Farm. Whereas yesterday I was easily hitting a sub-7 minute pace, today I struggled with an 8 minute pace over smooth trail. Since I was not going for a fast pace, it was not terribly concerning that I was going slowly. It did, however, pound home that it would have been a bad idea to race yesterday, and that I need to keep on top of my nutrition and hydration.

All in all, however, I am encouraged. My PF is feeling better over all. The injury that prompted the break from running seems almost completely healed. And I clearly have not lost much in the way of fitness or footspeed.

To leave you today: this NYT article gives a great response whenever somebody asks you why you run. Quite simply, running makes you smarter.