pain in the tuckus

*sigh*

remember this?  well, that wasn't the only injury i gave myself while trail running that particular week.  i also stepped squarely on a big enough rock with my left foot to hurt something fierce...

i've been nursing both of these injuries ever since.  i haven't been too concerned about either injury until yesterday.  the foot doesn't hurt when i poke and prod it so i figured that maybe it was just an internal bruise.  i did my long run on saturday (12mi) and then went to chicago for the day.  it was my birthday and we decided to spend the day walking around parts of chicago.  we parked by millennium park and then walked to the water tower.  in between we went to navy pier for an art festival thing that was going on and also to a restaurant for some food.  it was a wonderful day overall but i'm sure contributed to the way my foot has been feeling.

yesterday, however, my run was brutal.

from the very first running step both of my lower extremities were giving me hell... the right, because of the pulled muscle, felt tight and uncomfortable but did not actually hurt.  the left, because of the (possibly) bruised foot, felt weak and overall painful with each delicately pounding step.  this was compounded since i was on uneven terrain.  ultimately the pain subsided some as i got deeper into the run. 

i cannot tell you how beautiful it is running in lapham!

i completed the black route in just over an hour... slower than the last couple of times but man... that foot!  my time was 1:02:17 for the 6.5 miles. i tried not to walk the hills but walked a minute on the south hill and maybe a minute or less on another hill further in.  not too bad.

when i got home my foot was awful to step on.  did i take any ibuprofen?  oh no... of course not!  i just got in bed and watched a little tv instead. 

this morning it was so painful to walk on that i was limping.  3 ibuprofen later and it doesn't hurt at all... must be some sort of inflammation.  what a pain in the tuckus!  geez... 

this weekend i have the brewers mini marathon and i'm supposed to do 2 more training runs before my off days.  i always take the 2 days before a race off as rest days. 

when i got up this morning i decided i wasn't going to run my last 2 training runs, but now that my foot doesn't hurt i think i might just do an easy 5-6mi road run after work instead of running the trails.  give my foot a break and all that jazz.  i guess i'll decide for certain after work and see how i feel then.  i guess that's the problem with being a bit obsessive... i feel awful not getting my runs in.

my mileage for this month has been awesome compared to april - august... i haven't made my goal mileage any of those months.  then i did the striders 1/2 and was thoroughly disappointed in my time.  i decided that i needed to kick it up a few notches so that the brewers 1/2 goes better.  i was really hoping to PR in the striders so now that's my goal for the brewers.  time will tell. 

trail running

yesterday i ran in lapham peak as i often do.  my work hours have changed so i didn't arrive until just after 5:30pm.  the temperature had changed and it was a comfortable high 60s or very low 70s... i'm not entirely sure. 

i pulled up to a mostly empty "evergreen grove" parking lot (the first right turn you can make after you enter the park) and parked my car.  this is the lowest point in the park and where i almost always run from.  it ensures that i will get the whole route... whichever i choose to run.  i generally run the black loop... otherwise known as the "moraine ridge trail", and today was no different. 

i began my run at a pretty brisk pace and because it felt good to do so... i continued on at that pace throughout the whole length of the languid meadow (which is just under a mile before the lumbering hills begin).  i felt so free flying along the open planes of the lush green meadow!  as i was running along i decided i was going to try and run up the whole length of the first hill named "south hill".  it is a particularly challenging hill in that it teases you with not one but two seemingly flat spots where you think you've come to the end.  you have not, in fact, come to any such completion until you've passed both of those blissfully almost flat respites from the hell you're quads are in.

i arrived at the hill feeling elated and strong and started powering up it.  my garmin read near an 11m mile on the hill which is pretty good.  while trucking up the hill i just kept reminding myself of the deliciously sweet downhill that comes next.  then... i made it!

i took a sip of my beverage (water mixed with orange gatorade) and sped down the next hill with wild abandon!  it was so fun.  i still felt strong and ran on.  i was maintaining at a pretty decent clip and enjoying cool air washing over me as i went down into the valley.  it looked like the edges of the trail were trimmed back which littered the trail with green and gold clippings (very "GO PACK GO").  there were many more hills to climb so i slowed my pace some and just really reveled in the movement of my body.

it was such an amazing run.  i felt so strong and free.  trail running is nothing less than magical... i promise you.  if you've never run trails i encourage you to do so. 

i finished my run in just over an hour (1:03:19 to be exact), and averaged out at a 9:37min/mi pace.  the trail says it's 7mi but only once has it measured out to that distance for me.  all in all i ran 6.57 miles and am going to do it all over again today.