Getting the crown(s)

I’ve been laying low on the running this week.  I ran on Monday, and my foot was still being irritable.  Same area as my previous injury, so I guess it’s just a continuation of my sesamoiditis.  Which is a bummer because I let my foot rest for 3 whole days!  I think 3 days is plenty of time for my foot to heal.  Right??  🙂 On Friday I thought it was time to give my foot another try.  I got up early and ran 4.5 miles on the treadmill.  It felt OK!  Pain not completely gone, but nothing terrible.  Alan suggested we run together later in the day – because it was going to be 65 degrees, I gladly said YES!

Since it’s the season for giving, we opted to deliver Mobile Meals for my company.  I haven’t delivered in a long time because it always happens on my days off, so I enjoyed helping out again.

After the deliveries, we knocked out some more Christmas shopping.  It’s coming up so fast, but I think we have a handle on it.  Mostly.

For our run, Alan and I mapped out a run plan that would take us through a couple segments on Strava.  If you aren’t familiar with Strava, there are parts of running routes that are identified “segments” and people compete to get a CR (course record) on them.  I wasn’t aware that segments even existed until recently, so I had run those roads/trails before but not with any additional effort.  My name was on the board, but listed pretty low because I normally go on those segments are part of a long run.  But today the goal was to get some CR’s!  I know, having an injured foot all week, then going out at my fastest paces is ALWAYS a great idea!!!

Luckily the segments are typically pretty short.  One was .5 miles and the other was .9 miles.  After a short run to the location of the first segment, it was Game On!  I gave it my all, and scored a new CR with a 7:11 pace!  Previous CR (not me) was 7:50.  The next segment we ran was a bit of a mistake because I thought it was longer than it actually was, and we raced 1.5 miles instead of the .9 it really was.  Oops.  But still, I got a new CR with a 7:38 pace, when the previous CR (not me) was 7:49.  Booyah!!  Given that I got that pace for 1.5 miles, it gives me renewed faith that I can hit paces under 7:55 for a majority of a 5K.  I just need to focus better.

After those efforts I pretty much felt like puking, but hey, it was a victory.  This weather is just absolutely unbelievable for December.  We were sweaty in shorts and t-shirts!

When I woke up on Saturday morning, I was a bit disappointed that my foot was feeling irritated again.  Boo 🙁  I guess with my marathon training I’m going to need to be on a strict plan of icing my foot and taking anti-inflammatories.  I’m not really in a mood to take time off running because I enjoy the great tone it sets for my day.

Saturday was spent at a chess tournament for the kids.  If you’ve never been to a chess tournament, it’s a whole day of waiting around (for the parents) and about 25% chess playing (for the kids).  A full day from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm.  Although my kids have done better in tournaments, we were all quite happy to see the end result was a team win for Zachary (only 2 members, but they got 3rd place!) and Sydney (super awesome chess players on her team, 1st place win!).

After a stop home for dinner, and to rest for maybe 3 minutes, we headed off to a basketball game at the University of Toledo.  We had seats in the front row which was pretty darn awesome!  I’ve never sat that close before, and wasn’t sure how I would like the view, but it was really cool to be so close to the action.

Looking forward to a productive Sunday of cleaning the house (for real, it’s in serious need of some work and it will be great to get it done!!) and then enjoying more of that 65 degree weather outside!

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Q:  Do you look forward to doing housework?

Yes, because it’s such instant gratification!

Q:  Has the weather been beautiful where you live?

Q:  Do you ever race the segments on Strava, or are familiar with them?