Training Again

Recovery seems to be coming along ok right now. I still have some fairly painful plantar faciitis off and on these days. But if I stay on top of it and keep my calf stretched it minimizes things. My plan is to run no more than every other day. This should allow me to recover well and be able to build back up to some decent mileage quickly (I hope). It went well for the first week so far. I had two 5 mile runs and finished up with 14 today. I will slowly lengthen each of my runs for the next 6 weeks and then do little to no running the week of Ice Age until the actual event. I truly hope this works out. 


I have continued my strength training, it has been a lot of fun and a great challenge being able to workout with others. It is interesting being the "teacher" of this group. I feel that I have to be the strong one and push everyone to improve, but not so much that anyone gets hurt or feels like they can't do it. I try to keep them all encouraged and point out their progress. They are a tough bunch, there are 4 of us men ranging from 42 - 54 and a young lady in what I would guess is her very early 30's who is tough as nails. They are an awesome bunch to meet up with at 5:20am  - 3 days a week!


 If you spend much time in a vehicle and are interested in ultra running, check out the Talkultra podcast. It is on iTunes and they have interviewed some real ultra-legends such as, Gordy Ainsleigh, David Horton, and others. It's definitely worth checking out!


Finally, here are some pictures from today's 14 mile run. Now that spring has arrived, the trail looks much different than it did just a few short weeks ago. I had the pleasure of seeing 3 deer and 3 turkey this morning in close proximity, I love it!

One of the muddy stream crossings.

The sweet smell of spring was in the air today!

Getting Old?

We are half way through March and I am already dealing with injuries. I started the year off with the plantar fasciitis, and I am still dealing with it off and on. I haven't done anything more than some extra stretching up until now. Today I purchased a night wrap that is supposed to help treat mild cases, hopefully this will take care of it.

I believe that the pain in my heel has caused me to change the way I run. This has resulted in some hip problems on the left side. The pain kept me from running this past weekend so I made a visit to the local chiropractor. 

I am not a believer in chiropractic medicine but I am trying it with an open mind. I live in a small town so I know the chiropractor fairly well, he is a nice guy,  hopefully he will heal me. He spent just enough time to give me some electroshock treatment, twist and pull me a little and put me into his torture device.

This looks like something right out of one of the Hostel movies!

Oh yes...lastly, I was working out with our morning core group and must not have been warmed up and stretched out enough. I went down into a lunge and felt and heard my hip flexor pop. So I really couldn't do much for lunges or our plank leg lifts on that side for the rest of the workout.

All of these little nagging injuries seem to be adding up lately. Maybe I should back off a little but running and working out are my stress relievers and really elevate my attitude to a new level.

I did manage to go on my first bike ride of the year today. We rode 17 miles and it felt great to get out there. We didn't ride very fast but it's early in the year, the speed will come with time.