Sidelined by a cold

I have been running and training for a mid-november half marathon, but last week I caught a cold which has sidelined me for a little over a week. All the traveling and long work days paired with a good training scheduled just zapped me. I got a head and chest cold last week and I thought it best not to run until I kicked it. I started feeling better later in the week and did a short run. I missed a long run last week due to this cold and will need to miss it again this weekend due to some personal travel. That basically will mean ~3 Weeks since my last long run, I may need to look for a late November or early December race.

Still running....

I may not have been blogging about it, but I have been running consistently for the past month and half. I have been very busy at work with travel and projects. Despite all of that, I have maintained my running regiment by getting out four days a week. The weather is turning and I have enjoyed the crisp fall mornings. The temps are great but the running in the dark is overrated!

Although I have not registered for a race, I am in the thick of a half marathon training campaign. I expect to register for the Richmond Half Marathon in November. My long runs are in double digits again and my foot appears to be healed. I am enjoying the variety of the speed work and tempo runs. I am hopeful that this will help me recapture my faster pace prior to the injury.

I switched shoes again, this time from the Brooks Adrenaline to Brooks Switch. I like Brooks shoes, they are stable and cushioned. The Switch is a bit tight, but I like the feel overall. I continue to improved my form and become a consistent mid-foot striker.

I hope to get back to blogging about running in the near future.

Today's Run - 7/22 - 8/14

The last few weeks have been packed with work, vacation and work. Even though I was busy, I was able to get a some great runs in while in the Georgia Mountains and at the North Carolina Outer Banks. The GA mountains were impressively steep and combined with hot humid weather conditions. I was able to get a couple runs in this week of decent mileage and significant work effort. I worked back into a more normal schedule while in the OBX. We had a house on the beach that had great to the beach road path and beaches. I noticed it was easier to maintain my 90 strides / min on the flat terrain of the beach. The weather at the beach was hot humid even in the early morning.

After a couple weeks on the road, it was nice to return to my home tracks again. I got out a few times during the work week which eased the pressure of returning to work after a 2 week absence. The weather is starting to cool and sunrise is pushing back. It is still dark at 6am. I look forward to fall running, although that means that winter is right around the corner.

My left foot continues to heal, and I expect that the reduced miles has helped. I am pretty sure that I have a mild case of Plantar Fasciitis. Although my pain in not in the heal or arch as described in the overview, I exhibit the same symptoms as described in every writeup. I can tell it is on the mend and in the last few days has felt better than it has in recent weeks.

I hope that foot issue clears soon so that I can think about training for a fall race. I expect that I will run the Richmond Half Marathon due to training time constraints. I will look to run another Marathon in the spring 2012.

I will continue to work to find time to post about my runs and adventures.

Today's Run - 7/2 - 7/20

I have been wrapped up a bit and not able to post recently. I have been running regularly, but also traveling. I spent the last 2 weeks on the road which has given me some nice running opportunities in new and familiar areas. I ran while in Minnesota, finding a nice set of bike path trails around the corporate park / hotel. While in Connecticut I hit my familiar loops and routes. I was happy to return home to my standard routes and even found a new place to run. I discovered, the farm trails at the Jefferson Trails near Monticello. These trails are hilly and tree covered, I ran only about 2miles of the trails but I think you could easily find 10-12 miles of trails.

My foot continues to heal and is feeling better. As my foot continues to heal I start to think about what race I am going to run in the fall. The summer heat and humidity is in full affect. Even my early morning runs have been more difficult due to the weather.

I will work to start posting again with more regularity.

Today's Run - 6/29 & 6/30

I had a couple of nice morning runs on Weds and Thurs this week. The weather has been cool but the humidity and dew points have made running fast a bit difficult.

My foot continues to heal but has been sore after these runs. I am hopeful that it completely heals up soon so that I can start training for my next challenge. Speaking of which, I need to figure out what that will be. I expect that I will go after a 1/2 Marathon this fall. I like the later fall races, so something in early or mid November. If worse comes to worse I will run the Richmond 1/2 Marathon race again.

Speaking of races! I noticed an increase in the number of runners in the hood over the past few weeks. There appears to be a group of Lady Runners taking to the streets in the early morning. I expect many are training for the Charlottesville Women's Four Miler. Emily was able to register for this race and I look forward to cheering her and the other women on as they run for a great cause.

Today's Run - 6/27

I forgot to charge my Garmin on Sunday night so this morning I suited up for my run and found it was out of battery. I headed out the door and did the Darby Loop, Out to 250 and The Scottish Homes route for a good 5Miles. I worked on my perceived effort and pace. My foot continues to heal and I think it is almost ready for some speed work and increased mileage. Just in time to start my Fall training efforts.

Today's Run - 6/25

A great Saturday morning run, the humidity / dew point was perfect and the temp was nice a cool. I enjoyed my run through the Preserve and Q2. The challenging hill climb was a great work out but it took an impact on my overall pace. I decided to head through to cottages to tack on a little bit extra to make up for not taking my usual route on Piper.