Tag: bad things

Running at the Back of the Pack

Norma Leave a comment

Yesterday, I happened upon a Facebook post made by the folks at Runner’s World Magazine:

Post by Runner’s World.

 

I was curious, so I followed the link to the blog post they were talking about, written by Heather Gannoe at her blog:  http://relentlessforwardcommotion.com/2014/06/the-reality-of-the-back-of-the-pack-heartbreak-hill-half-marathon/.

I read the post with a lot of interest because I am a slow runner. I have a first place age group award for a 2-mile race and a second place age group award for a 5k, both of which had a very small field. But those two races are exceptions for me; I am consistently 30% away from the back, no matter what the distance. Judging from the number of comments on both the FB post and the blog post, Heather’s experience struck a nerve. It certainly did for me. Read More

Back on Schedule, Thanks Dr. Podiatrist!

Norma Leave a comment

My appointment with the podiatrist confirmed what I already knew: I have a Morton’s neuroma in my right foot. The good news is that it is continuing to improve and my doctor didn’t want to do anything drastic, i.e. stick a needle in my foot. The bad news is that I could have neuroma flare ups for the rest of my life. 🙁

My doctor gave me a new metatarsal pad that I don’t like, but I’m going to ditch it and begin wearing Correct Toes spacers as soon as they arrive. My foot feels best when my toes are spread apart, so I’m hopeful that the spacers will do the trick. Plus I talked to a former Correct Toes rep at the marathon expo and he swears by them and says you can run in them. I haven’t had good luck keeping my makeshift spacers in between my toes for long periods of time, so I’m really hopeful about this.

I’m cleared to return to “normal activities” as long as I don’t have any foot pain, so I did a long run this weekend of 7.5 miles. It was comfortable until my toe spacers crapped out on me and even after that it wasn’t painful, just bothersome. I plan to resume my regular running schedule tomorrow. There’s a 50k I want to do next month, so I need to get some miles in over the next few weeks.

DNF – Palo Duro Trail Run 50-Miler

Norma Leave a comment

image

Palo Duro Canyon, Texas
19 October 2013
37.5 miles finished in 9:02

This was my goal race for 2013 and I trained long and hard and traveled a long way to get to the starting line. Unfortunately, the finish line didn’t materialize for me.  After running three 50k races in the past 18 months, I was anxious to step up to another distance and I chose the Palo Duro Trail Run for a couple of reasons. One, it felt nostalgic and comforting to try something big and new “at home.” Two, I have hiked hundreds of miles in the canyon and I wanted to run somewhere familiar for a change.

Packet pick up took place on the night before the run at WTAMU, my alma mater. We were treated to a pasta dinner and a course overview. There was also a man there known as “The Ancient Brit” who is 86 years old and a friend of the race founder. He came to give a speech of encouragement to the runners and to present a proclamation to the park service from his home city of Westminster, England. It was pretty cool to hear about his experiences and the dinner gave me time to hang out with local runner friends and meet some new people. Read More