2012- Plantar Fasciaitis and Patience

2012 was supposed to be my first competitive year of Ultrarunning. I had 8 races planned, which was a bad idea to begin with. I had hoped that taking off the months of Nov and Dec would fix my hip and foot problems but my body had other plans. I had already signed up for HAT Run and I was committed to running that but training for it only set me back. After about a month of running only 20ish miles a week the PF flared up again and I was back to biking until almost August....

However the pain, physical amd mental, of being unable to train has given way to joy over the last 3 months. Near the end of the summer I underwent 4 rounds of Shockwave Therapy. Slowly but surely the throbbing in the heal subsided. Literally the pain subsided in the smallest of degrees day by day. In August I was able to run about 20 miles a week. In september I crossed 100 miles for a month. Nov I averaged 30 miles a week. And now December I have been able to run over 160 miles! PRAISE THE LORD FOR HE IS GOOD! Seriously the joy I feel as I write those last 2 sentences is incredible. All I've really wanted to do for this entire year is be able to train pain free. I'm sooooo close to that.

Running has been my therapy for the last 3 years. Hours alone on the trails have such a cleansing effect on the brain. Coming home I feel physically tired but mentally refreshed. Having that back is so comforting. So while 2012 may have been a failure as far a achieving my goals, it has ended on a high note and once again i'm uber optimistic about 2013.

So my goals were.

1) Run 2000 Miles -166 miles a month, 5.5 miles a day FAIL Ran almost 700 miles. (400 in the last 4 months)
2) Complete Hat Run with Dave and Wayne without hurting myself. EH! Finished it but didn't have Dave and I think I set myself back a bit by running it.
3) Break 4:30 at Blues Cruise in October FAIL Didn't run it at all4) Run the PA section of the Appalachian Trail this summer FAIL ran no AT trail this summer5) Get one guy from my Mantrip crew to sign up and complete an Ultra this year. FAIL wusses

So.... Yea. Tough year but ending on a much higher note than last year. 2013 here I come! Maybe my first top 5 finish? 2000 miles? Milestones galore. 

Week Ending 12-30

Mon- 7 Miles at nesh. Ran in the mornig for the first time in a long time. I paid dearly for not havig eaten anything beforhand. 60 minuts almost.
Tues- 7 Miles at Nesh- 54:10 Much better today. Felt alot of energy in final 3 miles. Great t have this run after yesterday's failure.
Wed- 4 core creek with my brother!
Thurs- 5.3 core creek with my wife and brother. Good times.
Fri- 11.5 new trail in NJ .5 with brother
Sat- 7 miles in snow! Love snow running.
Sun- 2 miles on road.

Week- 43
Dec- 153 yea!

Christmas and New Years almost in the same week.  Not much to share. I think I'll have to revisit my goals for 2012 after I post this. I think I missed on almost all of them. Here's to a healthy 2013.

Trying to Rest. Week ending 12-23

Mon- Soccer game- 3 miles. Won 11-3 boom.
Tues- 3 Miles with My Wife, Chris, and Justin at Core Creek. Nice and Slow
Wed- 2 Miles Langhorne Hills- Soccer game at 11pm- 3 miles. Other team didn't show, punks. Split up our team and played for 40 minutes or so.
Thurs- 5 Miles Langhorne hills....slow and steady. Hate running the road.
Fri- 7 Miles Neshaminy 55min! Love this course. Glad to run it again.
Sat- 5 miles Langhorne hills
Sun- Rest

Well the rest week went as planned I think. The friday 7 miler was a bit of a push but ultimately 55 minutes on that loop isn't fast. It's about 6 minutes off my PR which is almost a mile a minute slower than PR pace. So it was kinda a rest run. Ran a few times with my wife which is a joy. Cold weather and snow potentially next week. Very exciting. Haven't had to wear gloves or real cold weather gear yet this year. Maybe next week.

Merry Christmas everyone!

40.....hopefully......cmon get there!

Mon- 3 slow miles with justin. 2 soccer games 6 miles ish.....
Tues- 8 miles 61:05- Legs so heavy today. Hips were good. No drama. Core Creek has been wet and soggy for almost 8 days nows. It's getting to be significantly annoying to have to almost stop dead at certain points in order to keep from falling over.
Wed- 5.3 Core Creek 44:24 Similar story. Heavy legs. Took it very slow.
Thurs- 8 miles Core Creek Went with Chris. Took around an hr. Got to get his Hellate race report. So jealous that I couldn't run that race this year. I think that's my #1 running goal for next year. 100K Starting at midnight, lots of mountains.....ahhh can't wait.
Fri-5 Core Creek + 2 Treadmill
Sat- 5.3 Core Creek 39:58
Sun- Rest

Another week in the books. Felt good to break 40 this week after getting so close last week. I will say though that I am very excited about a rest week next week. I'm always so worried about reinjuring myself that the rest week has become a necessity for me. What a blessing though just to be able to be out out on the traisl again without much pain. Last year we so frustrating. The last 2 months have been great. Can't complain

Week - 42 Ha!
Dec- 82

This is 40, Almost Week ending 12-9

38 miles this week! I haven't run this many mile in one week since my last, and only, 50 miler last November. Such a good feeling to get back near 40 miles. That being said, what a roller coaster week. Feet killed me on tuesday and wednesday, my hips were really bugging me second half of the week. Might just be growing pains getting back to consistent  high mileage weeks. Today I feel good. Planning on another 40 miles week this week before I take next week to rest...ish....

Mon- 5.3 in 40:15 nice jog at CC + Soccer game at night 3 miles

Tuesday- 6 Ish miles at CC 49:45 do sluggish.

Wed- 3.2 miles Neshaminy. Had to abort at 3 miles. Feet hurt and hips hurt. First abandoned run in a long time. Very depressing.

Thurs- 4.5 Treadmill miles, also known as the worst type of miles ever. Maybe not bad if i'm doing hill work on the treadmill but just straight running is painful. Foot felt bettter but still much worse than 2 weeks ago. Caught a bunch of the Turin vs Juve game on the Bein network. Still upset that they have the right to most of the US soccer World Cup Qualifiers. ARG!

Fri- 8 miles Core Creek 60:58 minutes. Wet and cold, that's how I felt. My feelings happened to match the weather. Feet felt ok today. Hips were a bit of an issue. Still much better than wednesday

Sat- 8 miles Core Creek 59:50 Same course as yesterday, foot and hips both felt better than yesterday. Encouraging.

Sun- off. Woke up. Right hip was very achy. Not sure what's goin on there.

Week- 38 miles
Dec- 40.2

Week Ending Dec 2nd. Boom! Rest week + PR Try

Mon- 2.2 Miles- Soccer game at night 3 miles

Tues- 2 Miles Treadmill

Wed- 5.3 Miles Core Creek 58:50 Some slight speedwork here. My hipes are very sore from Monday night. Planning on going for a PR in Friday.

Thurs- 2.3 Miles as Neshaminy. Took it very easy. Trying to rest for tomorrow's PR attempt. Nervous but I think I'll be bale to break it.

Fri- Boom 5.3 in 35:59! Took almost a full minute off of my old personal record. Chris and I went together and he was a big help. First mile was too fast but the final mile was exactly as I'd hoped it would go. Feels good to break this one.

Sat- 2.2 Miles in Langhorne. Ran with my wife. Enjoyed it. Nice and Slow. Legs felt very heavy from yesterday.

Sun- Spent all day recruiting in Lancaster. No running. Thinking about giving up the Sunday rest day to get in a few more miles. No more than 2 at this point but it'll add up. Having the rest is nice though.

On the whole great week. Writing up something about setting PRs, will have that out soon.

Week- 21.5 Miles
Nov- 119 Miles
Dec- 2.2 Miles