Hello there my running comrades...I again must apologize for not writing anything in what seems like a decade. I haven't done much writing or running for that matter in the last 2 months; especially with the holidays it was very busy around my house and I just took a siesta and did some other things.
I figure I should probably start things back up again. A new years' resolution, but 1 month late. As they say, "Better late than never!"
One of the things that sparked my desire to get back into it was through an email I received this week from a fellow writer who asked if they could be featured as a guest writer on my blog. I have given my blessing and will post the writing when I receive it. So stay tuned...more on the horizon.
You may be curious to know why my title is called flat tire...well, because I have had a "flat" tire so-to-speak the past 2 months. Back on December 5th after running that evening with our local running club I noticed discomfort in my right foot; particularly near my heel. It did not feel well and became so painful that it was difficult to even walk on.
The next day as I got up for work was not pretty. I hobbled and hopped around my house like an elderly man...it was a sad sight, but mostly painful. I could barely walk. When I got to work I began to research what may be causing this pain and learned that it was heel spurs/Plantar Faciitis...not what I was desiring to find. It turns out that it is very painful and can last a long time. Both of my parents suffered from it and were in pain for a solid year....I don't think so! I am not about to be sidelined for a year after getting back into shape.
So I took an evening off and ran the following evening. I ran okay but still had noticeable discomfort in my heel as I ran...the longer I ran, the better it was, but still uncomfortable....when I was done, the same scenario played out and I again felt handicapped. I took another night off and proceeded to run again and still had problems. I then made a painful, but necessary decision to let my foot have some rest and time away. So between December 8th and January 29th, I did not do any kind of running or working out at all. Some days would be really painful and other days were more manageable.
I began wearing some high arched soccer style flip-flops and put some supports in my shoes and things began to improve...it is apparent that I have high arches thus causing more problems than I would like to have. Monday, the 30th of January came around and I actually felt very good and decided that I would break my time away from running and go for a run...
On a side note, I had been invited by some college teammates to join them in a race held on April 1st. It is a 44.4 mile relay event and I wanted to participate, so I said I was in...so now I have committed myself to train for something and was not totally sure if I could go through with it or not, but I was signed up.
Monday evening rolled around and I ventured out and met up with the running group that I go with and we ran a 5K...I wasn't going to go very fast and was going to just baby it, but my body said otherwise...i felt like a caged animal that had just been released. My legs and mind were ready to go and instantly snapped into running mode and thus I propelled myself into a faster than planned pace.
I ended up finishing the 5K in 25:08. Not my fastest time nor was it my slowest time ever. It was still an 8:30/mi pace and only about :30/mi off my pace that I was running in early December. The nice thing was that I was pain free during the entire run...my biggest problem was the workout my lungs got....they were tired :) and then I got home and rested and iced my heel and again the pain flared up by morning and I felt incapacitated again...but I wasn't as bad off as I have been in the past.
I rested yesterday and am ready for another go at it tonight...probably not going to push too hard, but am going to get 3 miles in and see where I stand after this evening...here's to new tires on the old model.
I will leave you with this quote that I came up with on Monday....
"Runners never get old...they just have high mileage"
it doesn't matter how old you are physically because anyone can begin running...some have run more than others and those who have run for a long time have just logged a lot of mileage...kind of like a car does after a few years.
Until next time....Scarecrow Runner
