Freethinker ~ Freerunner

I got the results of my bone scan yesterday from Dr. Stanley and I do not have a stress fracture in my right foot!  I had been having arch pain.  His best diagnosis at this point is that I have micro tears in the tissues and ligaments that run from my heal to the ball of my foot through my arch.  I was cleared to begin jogging and ease back into to running with my arch supports.  

The temperature was perfect this morning at 50 degrees.  I took Ty in the jogging stroller and did 3 miles at an easy 10 minute pace.  It is good to be back running again.  I will cautiously resume my mileage.  I'm still not sure if I'm going to try to sell my marathon slot or switch to the half and run it with Alisha.  

This was my first brick since July 19th.  It was my second run in over 8 weeks.  It was so much fun to workout with Kevin again and indeed to just get out there again.  I am looking forward to gradually and cautiously resuming my mileage.  

One week ago was my first run back in over 8 weeks.  My average pace in that 3 mile run was 9:41.  I ran the same 3 mile distance today at an average pace of 8:51.  My right foot felt good.  I think I'm still getting used to running in arch supports.  

My goal is going to be to add one mile per week until I get back over ten miles.  If I am feeling good I will consider running the Route 66 Half with my wife, which will be at a very easy and relaxed pace for me.

Run on!

I ran my longest run in 10 weeks since I've been in injury recovery mode.  Indeed my longest run ever with Alisha and Ty.  I have to be honest and say that I was aware of a feeling in the arch of my right foot for most of the run.  It was never what I would describe as painful or even tight.  But I was aware of something there none the less.

We ran at a 12:30 mile pace which is Alisha's comfortable running pace, and definitely a smart pace for me since I'm still recovering from injury.  

If I'm not feeling sore tonight I may consider riding in the morning. 

Brrr! It was 30 degrees when I went running this morning. Our crazy Oklahoma weather is showing its face again. We went running in shorts and short sleeves Sunday morning in a very comfortable 54 degrees. This morning I was in full blown cold weather gear. I felt good and ran an average pace of 8:40 per mile. My arch of my right foot felt mostly fine. I could feel it a little during the last half mile.

Brick ride with Kevin this morning at 6:00 AM.  18.74 miles on the bike followed by 1.4 miles running.  

I told Alisha I would go on her long run with her tomorrow.  I hope she is able to get up at 6 again and go like we did last Sunday.  She is not a morning runner, although I am trying my best to turn her into one.  

Alisha and I set out to run long today, but ended up running short.  We are learning that our individual preferred time of day to run is not likely going to work out. 

I drove out to the church parking lot at Elm and the Creek Turnpike this morning about 45 minutes before sunrise.  I ran towards the moon that was low in the sky.  There was so little visible light on the moon that all you could really see was it's circular outline in the night sky.  It was really a sight to behold.

I'm still closely paying attention to the arch of my right foot.  I still feel something there, just not the tightening that caused me to take time off.  I'm planning on running with Kevin tomorrow morning.  This will be my first opportunity in quite a few weeks to see how two days in a row feels.  

I was a nice 54 degrees this morning at 6:30.  Kevin and I ran from my house to the Creek Turnpike trail and headed towards NSU.  On the way back it started raining pretty good on us.

I felt the arch of my right foot a little less than yesterday, which I am happy about.  We ran a nice 8:42 pace today.  Yesterday I ran an 8:52 pace.  I had noticed in the past that running harder would actually make the pain go away or go down.  Since my pace today was very close to that of yesterday I think I can safely say that pace had nothing to do with the way that my foot felt.

This is the morning of the Tulsa Run.  I have run the last three in a row, but I'm going to miss this one.  The race starts in about 30 minutes.  I'm telling myself that it is alright to miss this year since my injury prevented the necessary training to improve on last years finish time.  I have never finished slower than the year or the time before and I intend on continuing that trend as long as possible.  And since I'm only thirty I should have quite a few good years left of improvement.  

So I ran six this morning and felt really good.  I ran an average 8:28 mile pace and felt very little if anything in the arch of my right foot.  I plan on running a long slow ten tomorrow morning, resting on Monday, then doing some speed intervals on Tuesday.  If I feel good after all of that I'm going to kick it up a notch for the Route 66 Half on November 20th.  

I intended on running long and slow today, but due to my late start I ended up modifying that to long and fast.  I tried to get out of the house by 6 so I could take my time and be gone up to two hours if necessary and still be back by 8.  I like to make a general habit of being back in time to watch This Week with Christiane Amanpour.  But since Ty woke up just before I got out bed at 5:45 and my wife is not exactly a morning person I took first kid duty.  She was good enough to get up at 6:30 to relieve me.

I did not want to run east again, although that has been the only good option since they closed the section of the trail by my house that allows access to the western end.  I decided to chance it early on a Sunday morning when there generally is little traffic and run the streets to get to the next westerly trail entry point.  I ran the streets for about 2 miles.  I ended up running all the way past Grace Church before I turned around.  Where I live you can just about mark your miles by Churches.  I counted once about 7 churches all within about 3 miles of my house.  Seven!  Marking way points with churches is quite a droll experience for an atheist runner.  

In injury notes I have to say the arch of my left foot felt pretty great considering I averaged an 8:35 pace.  I plan on resting for the next two days and then trying some speed work on Wednesday. 

I'm thinking I might finally be back to the point where I can actually write out a schedule for my self again.  Lately I've just been getting up early and running as far as I feel the need.