Back to not running...but riding the bike and climbing

The tweaked left foot was good for a few days of light running, which built my confidence, and then on the third day of running I decided to test it on a longer, 11 mile, run which then bulldozed it.

The first half of the run I felt great. Then, about 6 miles into the run my foot started to hurt ever so faintly again. I started to worry a bit that my foot was going to start hurting bad again and then, as if on cue, I stepped on a pointy rock right in the injury spot of my left foot and I was right back to square one again. My foot started hurting really bad and I hobbled for the next mile or so wondering if I would need to walk the last few miles to the car with my tail between my legs. Luckily, the pain eased a little and I was able to jog all the way back with minimal hobbling but the damage was done. My foot was hurting again. Obviously, I didn't rest it enough...

Typical issue for me (and almost everyone I know that is intensely active) that I don't rest enough and let injuries recover properly. It's so hard when my body wants to go, go, go but this little pesky tweak in my foot is holding me back. I mean, it's just this little part of my foot... but, just like climbing and getting a finger injury, it doesn't matter the size of the injured part of your body. If that part of the body is a crucial part of the body mechanics for the desired exercise then your sh-t out of luck until it recovers.

Well, I am determined to get my foot better so it's mountain biking and climbing for another week or so... just try to stay fit with the bike, ice, rest and all that and get some pitches in climbing to stay distracted. Tough though... legs want to run...big time.

This foot pain fiasco has had me questioning my minimalist approach to running. For the last few years I have been only running in New Balance 100's and 101's and I have loved it. But...I have noticed that this year my feet have taken a greater beating than last year as I am running a bit more miles. I'm questioning if the greater miles on the rugged trails around Flagstaff have been too much for the protection that my current shoes offer. Even though I love running in minimalist shoes I am realizing that I may need to cut back on their use a bit to save my feet.

So, I made a injury induced quick decision and purchased a pair of Brooks Cascadia 6 running shoes to get some cushion under my feet. I feel, at this moment, that once I get running again I am going to try and run in a more cushioned shoe for a while and then continue to go with cushion to run my bigger miles and rougher trails. I would then transition back into minimalist shoes like the 101's when I feel my feet can handle it and maybe only use them for shorter runs... Again, this is my current, injury induced, thoughts on the matter...we will see how this all changes with (fingers crossed) a recovered foot and more miles in the future.

On the climbing front, Susan and I met up our friend Dean and had a sweet afternoon of climbing at The Peaks. It's always good up there...super beautiful. I've said this before but I'm amazed at how much energy I have climbing now that I'm not running much.

Headed back up to The Peaks again tomorrow for some more climbing...

Running Log

Tuesday: 5 miles in am + 5 miles in pm (both on mesa, foot felt great) = 10 miles

Wednesday: 11 miles (on Dry Lake Hills, foot went to crap)

Thursday: 0 miles (rode the mountain bike)

Friday: 0 miles (rode the mountain bike)

Saturday: 0 miles (climbed at The Peaks)

Week Total: 27.5 miles running with 2,000 feet of elevation gain