Foot Pain

Yes, it's been eleven days since I ran. After the last outing, the bottom of my right foot between the middle and fourth toes swelled. I don't know why. It was weird, because I'd expect something like that on the ball of my foot, but not in the middle. I iced it and then took it easy for - well, the last eleven days. Today I felt the cabin fever and knew I needed to get in some exercise. Even though I'm smoking a pork butt today, I slipped out for a 3-miler. The run itself was good, but my foot is aching again in the same spot. Must be something with my shoes that apparently popped up unexpectedly, but I don't know what. More to come on that, I think. Now it's time to relax and smoke some meat and jalapeno poppers.

Spring Winds

The spring winds continue today, to the tune of 25 mph with gusts over 40. That made running southward a bit more difficult, but even more than that the temperature of 80 degrees slowed me. I walked a couple of times on the last half but managed to get in 4 miles. It was a nice, easy outing after the race on Saturday. I felt a few calf twinges in the first couple hundred yards but told myself if I couldn't run, at least I could walk. They went away and didn't come back, so running only came into play because of the heat. Yeah, it's going to get hotter, but this is the part of the year where I start to build tolerance. That way when the thermometer hits 100 degrees I can at least go out for a bit where there's shade.

Shamrock 5k 2025

This morning turned out to be nice, a far cry from the gusty day before. It seems a good part of west Texas blew into town yesterday and the sky was filled with dust. We caught a break for the 5k, which started at 9 a.m. Really, it only got a little breezy with the last half-mile or so, which circuited Towne Lake and put us going due east into the wind. Could've been worse. Anyway, I didn't run Thursday due to work issues, and felt like I had fresh legs today. It actually went way better than I would've hoped. The first mile is mostly uphill, kind of a kick in the pants to start a race. I felt good, and jumped ahead at a good 10-minute pace. Most of that was spent dodging around slow people and walkers, who for some reason all think they should be at the front when we start. That's my biggest pet peeve about people in these races. The second mile recovered the previous elevation gain and my pace increased slightly. My time was (unofficially) 29:42, a nice time for a guy of my age who hasn't been running fast at all. I feel good about coming in under the half-hour mark. I looked at my watch a couple of times and it said my heart rate was basically at the max, but I don't think that was right. I definitely felt the effort of the run, but at no point did I feel like I was overdoing it. It makes me think the watch is off in measuring my heart rate, or maybe adrenaline and the little bit of competition offset it. IDK but it was a great run and I'm happy with the results.

Double the Fun

I just realized I forgot to log last Thursday's 4-mile run. Probably because I was able to go earlier in the day than normal and got busy doing other stuff. If I remember right and my fitness app is correct, I ran the whole way and even sprinted at the end. Probably because I knew Saturday would be a rainout.

Today I went 4 miles again, this time in sunshine and a stiff breeze from the south. It was also 80 degrees. I walked at the 3-mile mark since I figured that was a good practice distance for the 5k upcoming this Saturday. My music also went out less than 2.5 miles in, meaning I ran in relative silence for most of the last half. A couple of groups of high school kids out along the path and a few other random strangers enjoying the nice day. Looks like the wind is supposed to pick up again later this week, but hopefully the St. Patrick's Day run will be decent.

Sirens

Woke up just after 5 this morning to thunder and lightning, and then a bunch of wind. Somehow managed to go back to sleep and then was awakened again at 5:45 by tornado sirens. I checked the radar and all seemed well, other than a line of storms going through, and the sirens stopped shortly after. All that to say, I wasn't sure how the weather would turn out today other than windy. However, I apparently hit a good spot late morning with a stiff breeze from the southwest, but not as bad as it's going to get later. I ran 4 miles with about 200 yards of waking in the last mile when my heart rate got a bit higher than I like. I don't know, I don't feel horrible when that happens, but if I'm going by the recommended heart rate, it's over 90% in those instances. Anyway, the walk helped bring it back down and I finished just fine.

Unexpected

I set out for this morning's run with high hopes, but ended up unexpectedly walking most of the last mile. My heart rate was up for the first three miles, and then my right calf felt tight. So, I ended up walking. I went 4 miles total but had expectations of going two more. I could have pushed it, but I also have a lot of yard work to do today and didn't want to make things worse. It was a nice morning, about 70 degrees with sun and a good, stiff breeze. Wish I could have run longer.