I hurt my foot after Tuesday night's run because had on socks that were too thick. The top of my right foot was bothering me. Therefore, I took Wednesday off to rest. The foot seemed better this morning.
Emily had messaged me to see if I wanted to run this morning. That was perfect, because I sure as heck wasn't getting out there early by myself. She hasn't run double digit miles since the Philly Marathon and wanted to run 10 miles today.
We agreed to meet up at Riverview Park at 7:30. I would've liked to have gone later, but I couldn't do so with the potential for work. This weather has been so crazy. When we started, it was 19 degrees with a windchill in single digits. I wore my usual winter gear, plus a fleece vest.
I suggested meeting there because I knew that the trail was cleared between Hugh Moore Park and Easton. Emily suggested we start by running to the Boat Launch. That area had been plowed, but it was plowed too late. It was clear in some spots, but very icy in others.
It was an interesting and very slow start for us. We were all over the trail, trying to find good footing. The snow on the sides was often the best option. Your foot would slide out from under you all the time. We slipped, but neither of us fell.
The section near the Boat Launch was the worst. We turned around and headed back. It took forever. Even conversation couldn't seem to speed things up.
It was great to get back to Riverview, especially knowing that the next section would be better. From Riverview, it was snowy and slippery until we crossed over to the other side of the river. That was a short distance though. The trail was clear from that point. Emily went ahead of me and for a minute, I thought she might fly ahead or really push the pace. Instead, I ended up slightly ahead and controlling the pace a little more.
It was nice and easy. It was cold, but it was also now fun because we didn't have to worry about slipping and falling. I had been very worried about my foot acting up, but I had no problems. I was rested, so the legs weren't sore either.
Some of these middle miles just seemed to drag on forever. I couldn't wait until we hit miles 7 and 8. As we headed toward Easton, there was an interesting sidewalk section. It was still covered in ice. It had been walked over, so it was very uneven. It was definitely slippery, but it didn't bother me too much. I noticed Emily fell behind and I had to look back to make sure she was still coming.
We ran out under the free bridge and to the amphitheater. We turned around there and headed back. I believe we were over 7 miles into the run at that point. It was great to turn around.
Going back seemed much quicker than heading out was. Before I knew it, it was mile 8. Again, I had flown over the tricky part. It must've been all my trail running that caused me to cruise over the ice.
Most of the miles in this latter half of the run were around an 8 minute pace. It was solid. We didn't quite have things measured out right. We ended up hitting mile 10 before crossing the river. We walked the short distance back to the river on the road.
It was great to get the run out of the way early. I loved the company, as I always do. It makes the miles go quicker. It is really the only way I'll probably ever run mornings. It was also great to battle and defeat the cold. It is crazy weather we are having right now. It's like February weather already. The coldest days of winter are typically like this.
I took a nap in the early afternoon. My foot started to get sore. I guess maybe it was simply the position I had it resting in. I was going to take a few days off, but then I walked on it and it felt fine. I decided to head out for the second run after all.
This run was on my own. I didn't want to travel anywhere, so I went in the neighborhoods around my house. I figured I would only do an easy 5 miler.
The temperature was a few degrees warmer than in the morning, but not much. It was still ice cold and actually it seemed like the wind picked up and it felt even colder than the morning run. Heading west was freezing, but running east did feel nice. I wore the same type of attire as earlier.
The plan was to run the one mile loop around my neighborhood. Then, I'd run the Blue Eagle 5k course and finish up with some short distance around my neighborhood again. Nothing too difficult.
The foot was slightly sore at the beginning, but it adjusted quickly and I felt good. At the end of the run, I had some mild soreness on my legs, but overall it wasn't too bad. The run itself was quite boring and uneventful. It was just cold and not much else was happening. I did tune out at times and the run seemed to go by quicker when I was with my thoughts.
Before I knew it, I was back to the neighborhood. That pace had started slow, but it was the typical around 8 minute pace that I usually run by the end. I did a shorter loop around my neighborhood and was done.
It was good to be able to run again and not have foot problems. I would've liked a few more miles today, but I'll take it. Tomorrow, I'll have to put in a solid run. I'm thinking it will be 12 miles. I don't want to do much more or run twice because I do have a race scheduled for Saturday morning. I'll probably run again after that, to end my week. I'm now up to 46 miles for this week.
Today was the two year anniversary of my bowel resection surgery. It got me back to good health and maybe saved my life. Even though I was initially depressed after it, I'm very grateful now. It has given me great opportunities and I just try to get the most I can out of running and life in general.
I decided a month ago that I needed to eat better. I figured that I could at least give it a try for a month and see if I can stick to it. I wanted to start the program on the anniversary of my surgery. I did that today, but I didn't eat much. I'm still about 2,000 calories short of what I should be eating for the day. That's partly due to all the running I did and also the fact that I don't have much good food to eat here. Flo is helping me out with this and I hope it works and improves my running and makes me feel good too. Time will tell.
AM Run 10 miles - 1:22:29 (8:15 pace)
PM Run 5 miles - 42:27 (8:30 pace)
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