This afternoon I met my brother and Dan Bellinger in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park for a couple hours of snowshoeing. This was my first time wearing the new snowshoes that I bought last week and they performed really well. We had a great time and enjoyed hiking through approx. 8 inches of snow in areas that weren’t packed down.
The arch of my left foot started to get really sore during the 2nd half of Bills Bad Ass 50K last month and lingered around for awhile afterwards, so I decided I better take some time off to rest it. I believe what I’ve been dealing with for the past 4 weeks is plantar fasciitis – a common injury among runners. The other day I felt like I was finally turning the corner though and could start running again. So, of course I picked today to do it, with temperatures in the teens and sub zero 30 mph wind gusts. I guess you could say that the weather elements gave me the added incentive I needed to get outside and challenge myself. Winning a spot in next year’s Massanutten Mountain Trails 100 miler for the 3rd year in a row has also helped rekindle my fire. Even though I felt some soreness in my left arch after tonight’s run I felt pretty good overall during the run. I’ll just have to keep reminding myself to gradually increase my mileage to avoid any issues.
