wow. since my foot has been feeling better i am enjoying trying to rebuild my endurance. what i have found is that i no longer have the heel pain of PF, which is so so so great. when i was feeling that pain every day all i could think is that i couldn't remember how it felt to not have pain. now it is becoming a distant memory. last week i felt like i really started to turn the corner in getting back into putting some distance on my feet and it was so mentally boosting.
saturday, 2/11 ... 14.5 miles with my buds, lorrie and sandy. we ran on a flat rail-trail bed, so the surface was good for me, but just as before the injury, i still really do not like that kind of terrain. i love hills and flat running is hard for me ... mostly because i have to run. i like the breaks of hiking up hills and the workout of going down them. so this run was a little faster than i would have liked. my foot felt a bit "tight" after, which resolved with stretching and massage.
sunday, 2/12 ... woke up with my foot feeling rather excellent. wow. maybe that push of running a little faster was actually helpful for it. likely what i was feeling in it after yesterday's run was just a matter of lack of training. so get back at it. ~16 miles today, hilly run from our house to cornell in the snow and wind ... a lot of wind. now this is what i like, although i would have preferred to be on trails, running on the dirt sides of the road was not so bad.
so with back-to-back longish runs i completed the week with 52.5 miles. wow. haven't done that in a long time. and even though it felt great, i guess i still need to remember to not overdo it.
so this week is essentially a non-long run week because of my work schedule. this has been a maintenance/recovery week and i will plan to get that long run in monday. it has been a fun 2 weeks of running and i am so glad to start feeling more normal, in that respect, again.
on another note, i am so proud to say that i received what i find to be an amazing honor in my running life. i was awarded the hartshorne volunteer of the year award by our finger lakes runners club. i feel that this award is such a huge thing because it's not about me running, it's about what i give back to running ... something that i have come to appreciate more and more over the years. i do love to run, but it is so rewarding to help others in a sport that i feel so passionate about. i have never volunteered for anything for the recognition of it. i do it because i want to help others see what a wonderful world the running community is and what a great sport we have. that said, it does feel really awesome to have received this great honor. thank you to all who voted for me!
