Set Backs

When I fail to post here for a long time, weeks in this case, there is always a reason for it. Sometimes it's just that I'm more busy than usual and haven't found the time to sit down and write with the necessary focus. Other times it is more that running is not going well and I find less to write about when running is going poorly.

Unfortunately, this is one of those times.  The past two weeks I've run fewer than 60 miles total, and that mileage includes a 15 mile run two weeks ago today.

That day, I got new shoes (Inov8s for the first time ever. I like them, but they have seemingly cause some problems). That was also the day I took off for Tulsa for work. Incidentally, the reason that I got new shoes was that I anticipated road and/or dreadmill running in Tulsa, and thought I needed some new road shoes for this eventuality.

The next day, I made my mistake. Three of the four of us doing fieldwork in Oklahoma that week are runners, and the first day I opted to head out with one of them for one of his normal runs. I should have demurred as soon as I heard that he generally does 8 miles on roads at about 7:30 pace. That's not really any more volume than I do, but I do it on trails, not roads, and at a slower pace.

Additionally, my new shoes had significantly less cushioning than my PureGrits.

Despite the nagging voice telling me this was a very bad idea, I went out for the full 8 miles, coming back in at just under an hour for a quick outing. Every mile that voice kept telling me to turn around and head back. I, being somewhat less than intelligent that day, ignored it and went on.

The next day, Tuesday, I started feeling sick, but still  went out for a slow 4 mile trail run on Turkey Mountain. Apparently, Turkey Mountain is about the only trail system in Tulsa, and every trail runner for miles around comes there to do their workout.  This guy seems to be the organizing force in Tulsa trail running, and also seems to have a website listing all the trails he's found in Oklahoma.

Wednesday morning I could barely get out of bed. I quickly realized that I was not going to get a run in that day, since I felt like I had been hit by a truck. But since the company had flown me out to Tulsa, I still had to do the site visits. When I wasn't actually on site that day, I was asleep. Needless to say, the rest of the trip was not fun, and I got zero running in. The flu will do that to you.

Saturday morning I started feeling better, and hit a three mile shamble that made me feel much better about my prospects. Easter Sunday proved too busy to get a run in, and perhaps that was a good thing. Over the next five days, I managed to fit in about 30 miles, but had a persistant pain in my right foot, the same one that has been plagued by Plantar Fascitis for the past month or so.

On Friday this pain got much worse on a shambling descent down Flagstaff. It's a pain in the joint where my third toe connects to my foot. It is reminiscent of a pain I used to get occasionally when I first started running in Vibrams. This leads me to believe that it's likely from running too far, too fast, on too hard a surface that first day with my new shoes. Truly a rookie mistake, but one that many make.

So I have taken the weekend off, and plan to slowly reintroduce my feet to the less cushioned shoes over the next several weeks. I'll do my longer runs in the PureGrits for a while, and run short in my new shoes. Hopefully this slow progression will get rid of the pain. If not, I will likely have to see a doctor about it, or go straight to a PT.

Setbacks: they happen to us all, and I have to keep reminding myself that, at this point, I have a great base underneath me, and a week or three of lower mileage is not going to destroy my training. I have my goal race in August, and a couple possibilities before then, but in the meantime I have to focus on staying healthy.