R.I.C.E.

My foot has really been bothering me lately. It is the top part of the foot, on the outside. It is a little tight, but when I move my foot into certain positions the pain is a little more intense. I did some searching on Web MD and think that it might just be a strain.

I definitely do not want to injure my foot any more than it is. Right now it feels like it can get better pretty quick, as long as I take care of it. I do not want to make it worse and then have it require weeks and weeks to get better... or worse.

It still has not really dawned on me that it is the middle of June. The year is almost half over and in less than two months I will start my marathon training. I want to make sure that I am healthy going into that so that I can complete my first marathon in November.

So it will be plenty of RICE for me over the next week and see how my foot feels. I will not run on it until it feels 100%, but I may walk and cycle very lightly as it feels better, just so I can keep a certain level of fitness.

One of my problems is lack of exercise other than running and cycling. I need to do more core exercises and stretching throughout the week in order to keep my body stronger and run better.

Things to focus on.

Benjamin-Ross Memorial 5k Race Report

Local races are my new favorite. This 5k was held at a high school that is only two miles from my house. It was an easy decision to run there as warm up and run back as a cool down.

After a very easy run there I signed up and then stretched. I then did a couple of laps around the high school track with a few sprints in there to get my fast twitch muscles awake and ready to go. I have been itching to set a new PR and break 30 minutes for a long time, and I was now very confident that I would be doing it today.

Something in me sounded an alarm when I saw that the start line was at the bottom of a pretty steep hill. Short... but steep.

At the start I was keeping a steady pace with the rest of the group, and since we were going up hill it helped me to stay at a slow pace to start. But the top of the hill brought out some speed. For some reason I kicked it up a notch and was going pretty steady. It felt comfortable, and I refused to look at my watch, but toward the end of the first mile I was feeling winded. The mile split came up and I could not help but look at my watch.

8:14.

Not good.

That is about two minutes faster than I wanted to do the first mile. I think that triggered some mental block in my head, because I now felt even more winded and it was hard to get into a better pace. I slowed it down, but now it just did not feel right.

Despite slowing the pace I was still going pretty hard. The course was extremely hilly, which was a surprise to me since I have never run this course and could not find a map of it before the day of the race.

Throw in the heat, 70+ degrees, add the hills and the fact that I started way to fast, I was starting to bonk. It took just about everything I had to keep pushing hard. My HR went up pretty high and maxed out at points.

The end of the run was downhill, then a slight uphill onto the high school track. When I turned the corner and got onto the track I saw the clock. The first number on the clock was a 2! I could not believe it... Not only was I going to set a new PR, as planned, but I was going to break 30 minutes, as hoped.

I sprinted into the chute and finished in 28:30. The run killed me. I was totally spent and as I slowed down I felt like I needed to lay down. I got some water and forced myself to walk for a few minutes in order to cool down. I started feeling really good.

Even runs that take everything out of you, and feel horrible during the run, feel so great when they end... not because they are over, but because the body has reached a peak and pushed itself the way it was designed to be pushed.

Some of my first thoughts after finishing were "how will I ever be able to run a marathon when I almost committed suicide in a 5k?" but those thoughts only lasted a few minutes. My mind quickly shifted gears and I started thinking... "I almost killed myself running 5k, can I push it harder to get through a marathon?"

As for the race... the registration form said that it was an informal race in keeping with the Ross tradition. I expected that this would mean no frills and only the basic essentials. But I was wrong.

It was well organized and very well run. The t-shirts are pretty nice and the bibs actually had the name of the race printed on them. This is definitely a race that I will be doing again, and at $18 on race day is a great deal!

A Funny Thing On My Ride Today

So I went out for a bike ride today.

I was riding through a neighborhood that is not a bad neighborhood, but isn't exactly high class either. I passed by three kids that could not have been more than ten years old. They were trying to look tough by the way the strutted down the sidewalk.

As I went by them, the kid wearing a wife beater yelled out, "I'll jack your bike fool."

I was riding too fast to respond, and did not even care, but once what he said registered I could not help but laugh.

Anyway, the ride was spectacular. I just finished watching Paul Blart: Mallcop... the most disappointing film I have ever seen. It sucked so bad I could not return it to Netflix fast enough. I decided to take it back to the post office right away.

I rode a little over five and a half miles to the post office, passing two other post offices and a number of mailboxes along the way. Once there I dropped off my movie and took another route home. I finished up with a little over 14 miles, and my legs feel great.

I am running a 5k tomorrow morning and plan on setting a new PR. I do not want to sound cocky or anything, but I feel good about this run and think I should be smashing it if all goes well!