Things don't always go as planned. Today, I was shooting for 12 miles. I didn't end up hitting that. It was chilly out, so I waited until later in the afternoon. I then headed to Riverview.
It was still in the low 40s with a decent breeze when I started. I went with shorts and a short sleeve shirt. That was a little chilly at times, but I managed.
I had to use the bathroom in the beginning, but it was locked. That meant that I needed to go over to Hugh Moore Park and use the one there. I headed out in that direction.
The legs felt great and well rested. Taking it easy the last few days has been great. I considered a faster pace today, but I want to race tomorrow night, so I figured I might as well put it on cruise.
It wasn't long until I was in the park. The first mile was a solid 8:17. About 1.25 miles into the run, I was at the bathroom. That was a quick stop and then back at it.
The bottom of my right foot, near the smallest toe, has been bothering me for weeks. I guess it got worse with the big mileage weeks the last two weeks. Now, it was bothering me again. It felt kind of hot. The other side of that foot was a problem too.
The problem occurs right where I land with every foot fall. It's not unbearable, but it is surely uncomfortable and I can feel it with every step. I ran on stone trails the last few times out, and the lesser impact of those seemed to help it.
Rather than battle through and take a chance, I decided to back off and quit after the second mile. There is no point in risking more problems. I don't know what it is. I don't think it is a stress fracture and I did some tests for that and didn't find a problem with it. It could be a bruise or maybe even a blister underneath some of the skin.
Since it doesn't bother me on softer surfaces, I think I'll try to stick to those for awhile. If I have issues then, I'll back off even more. I need it to get better, not worse.
Tomorrow, I'm still planning to race. That race is on a stone trail. I also think that when I run faster, I impact the ground with less force and it doesn't seem as bothersome. I can tough it out for a 5k and will do that if I have to. Beyond that, I'll be cautious.
I'm also going to run with Kelley in the morning. We are going to meet at the softer D&L. Hopefully that will help. I'm just looking for an easy 5 miles. I am curious to see what kind of 5k time I can run, since I haven't run that fast for that short of a distance since the Peepsfest 5k on New Year's Eve.
2 miles - 16:20 (8:10 pace)
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