Spring Training| Trail Running!

My enjoyment for running is relative.  Two years ago, a "good" run was a 6 hour run in the back country of the east bay foot hills.  Today, a "good" run is lacing up my running shoes and running around the block.

I have been plagued with minor plantar fasciitis for at least 2 decades.  I have always taken care of it to a certain degree.  I wear inserts, do stretches, and ice the painful areas. In the last 6 months, my running has dwindled down to a maintenance program.

For this last bout of PF, I bought some inserts from the Good Feet Store.  This is not a knock against the company, but my feet got worse and I developed "pump bump" which is a calcium build up on my right heal.  Basically, I am screwed for running anything long.  Rather than being bitter, I am happy that I can still run.

I purchased some custom orthotics and hope that this will at least stabilize the problem.

Last week I went on my first long trail run in 6 months and it was like being let out of jail!  I was able to see a cute bob cat on the run.  This cat was perched on the side of the hill looking real cool at us.  Cats are always cool.  They act as if they don't have a care in the world.  This bob cat was BIG!   We thought that maybe it was a mountain lion.  From our vantage point, it was hard to tell.  It was feline and it was not your garden variety house cat!

Over the past few months, I have been gradually increasing my runs while decreasing my pain.  The pain is a constant reminder that I am not greater than God.  While at age 48, I think of myself as invincible, my aching heel tells me that I am a mere mortal.  This may be my "thorn in the flesh".

This morning I had a beautiful early morning run.  The sun was just peeking over the mountains and warming up the ground.  It was much later than my usual 5 AM runs.  Since my injury, I know sleep in on Saturday's until about 6 AM.  See, it's all relative!  I even met up with young lady who completed the Oakland Marathon a month ago.  She is suffering with PF too.  I think most long distance runners over the age of 20 battle with this ailment.  Running is very social.  I don't try; to get away from people to be alone.  In fact, I look for other runners to talk with.

My 2 young boys have gotten used to having me around early Saturday mornings and get excited because Saturday morning is Cinnamon Roll Day.  I make home made whole wheat cinnamon rolls every Saturday.  When I am out on my hour long run, they sneak down stairs and peek into the oven to see if the rolls are rising.  They have gotten so used to it that they can hardly remember me running my hour runs. If I run longer than 1 hour like last Saturday, they ask why I was gone so long.

At the end of the day, I would rather be seen as the husband of my beautiful wife and father of my 2 boys rather than the guy who can run 25 miles.