Happy New Year

Midnight Madness went great. It was my third time running the race, and as always, I enjoyed it. My time was good for not even trying. Well, I tried, of course! I ran the whole thing straight through and kicked it up a bit at the end. My offical time was 35:19. With the weight gain and the injury, I can be proud of that accomplishment. Even if I'm slower than I was a year ago, I still enjoy getting out there and doing the best I can do on that particular day.

My first run of 2006 was 5 easy miles down the bridle path. I sure do like running there. The houses are so pretty, and the surface is forgiving. I take my iPod Shuffle, load it up with some great tunes, and off I go!

I also scored a steal of a deal at the Brooks Outlet Store at Anthem. They are going out of business and I scored 4 pair of shoes, 5 pair of shorts, 3 pair of tights, a tank, and a wind vest for under $200! At retail prices, 2 pair of shoes costs me almost $200. And since I am heavier than most runners and a forefoot striker, I can blow through a pair of shoes in 150 miles, which in a low mileage normal training cycle is 2.5 months. So that was great.

I have decided to commit to the 2/19 Desert Classic Half Marathon. Upcoming races are:
1/29 Runner's Den Distance Classic 10k
2/11 Year of the Dog 5k
2/12 Character Challenge 6k
2/19 ARR Distance Classic Half Marathon

I have a run of 7 miles scheduled this Sunday. My foot still hurts. First the ball of the foot starts to feel really hot. Then there is a buildup, usually a combination of tingling, pain, and numbness. It's not so bad to make me stop, but I've been down this road 3 times now and I know it will just get worse. I can actually feel the nerve snapping in there between my metatarsals. It usually doesn't hurt. It just feels weird. But yesterday after my 3 mile, I moved my foot, felt it snap, and an electric shock went through my foot that made me say, "yowza!" It's time to get the neuralizing injections. I'm calling tomorrow.