Sunday, September 9, 2007

Information is a Good Thing

Saturday morning was quite cool. I set out for a long run after having missed last week's. The schedule says 16 but, I knew that was probably not in the cards. Between the unsolved mystery with my feet and the lingering affects of my cold, I just wanted to see if a decent, longish run was possible.

I think I ran 4 or 5 miles before even turning on the tunes. It was beautiful, and I was finally running and not feeling like crap, not needing to stop!! I was thinking about maybe still having enough time to do the marathon. If I can't get the miles up there, then I am okay with that, but it seemed possible.

I couldn't believe how little gatorade or gel I needed. What a difference a little smart prep makes and of course, being a few days further out from the cold and the cool temps made a huge difference. I felt quite strong, although my splits were even slower than usual, slower than I thought possible and to still be running :). I'm SLOOOOWW, but I'm BAAAACK!!

Around 7 miles, I was looking for ways to make my route longer than 10 or 12 and feeling like I might be able to run forever. Then, around 7.5 miles, the feet started their melt down, and suddenly I was wondering if I could do 10. In the end, I did do 10 miles, and I am pretty psyched about that. I had some difficulty with my feet but I think perhaps there has been progress with these orthotics. The damage seemed to be less and the recovery fairly quick.

In the end, I have more information than when I started. Headcold Hattie did NOT zap me so bad that I am starting over. I went 10 miles!! Secondly, I could likely fight the pain and make it through a half marathon right now, even with no more improvement. I don't think there is enough improvement just yet to try to go much further. SO, I did decide to call in the experts and see a podiatrist. I am hoping that perhaps the next step in quality of an orthotic could hold the answers I am looking for. I can only hope he isn't as creepy as this guy -------->

14 comments:

Scott McMurtrey said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Scott McMurtrey said...

hey, nice run and way to show your body who's boss.

the creepy docs are usually the smartest, right?

ws said...

Great job on the 10 miles. If you can do 10, you can definitely get through a half marathon, IMO.

Hopefully the podiatrist has the right answer to your foot pain.

Patty said...

How dare you call my nephew creepy! Do you know how many years it took him to graduate from foot school? And how do you think you would look after dealing with stinky toes all day long??? ha,ha.

Oh! Right...Comment on the running...

Word cannot express how happy I am for you that you were able to get ten miles in, and most of it felt okay if not good on the feet. (Even) more than being happy about the miles, I am happy to hear the renewed spirit in your voice (through you words of course...I don't hear voices...well not many anyway). Good job!

Marcy said...

OMG that guy in that pic looks like he wants to lick some toes. Nasty!

Awesome job Nancy!!!! Way to get back at it!!! Give us the dish on the podiatrist too. I hope he/she will have some more answers for you!

Single said...

Congrats on the 10 miles--glad to know that we can come back from adversity! Great effort.

Cranky

Jess said...

I agree with the others, if you can do ten, you can do 13.1, easy. And yeah, seeing the podiatrist is a good idea. If orthotics are necessary, they wil help improve your foot pain a great deal.

Nancy said...

He didn't lick my toes. Maybe that should be my next post?? :)

J~Mom said...

Looking good!! 10 miles, that is awesome! I hope the doc had some answers for you!

Bill Carter said...

Nancy you rule! You have this way of just perservering in the face of adversity. You are the kind of person that every sports team wants. Someone who keeps coming back no matter how many times they get knocked down.... that is what makes you a runner.
Congrats on the great run. It only takes a few of those to get you to forget the lousy ones. It certainly doesn't hurt to have better feet and a healthy, resting immune system.
Best of luck,
Bill

Unknown said...

Great job getting those 10 miles in. It has to feel good to "be back."

Eliminating my knee problems came down to finding the right person...hopefully you will find the right person to correct your foot problem.

kate said...

So glad you're feeling back to normal Nancy! And I agree with the others, if you can do 10 you're set for a 1/2 marathon no problem.

Get that foot taken care of!

Running Ragged said...

You give people like me hope!

Congrats on your 10!!!

Brian Hawkinson said...

Let's just say you are in the money... Now it is a matter of how much can you win (or how far you can run in this case). 10 miles is a great distance to run and you are already ready for a half if you wanted.

With my 50k I knew I could do the 26.2, so I figured why wouldn't I be able to push it another 5 miles (or in my case, run the 5 plus an extra 2.5). You are there, now you just need some cooperation from your feet.