Trying not to run...it's so hard.

The Beckley 1/2 marathon was yesterday.  I spent the week trying to talk myself into taking an extended period of time off from running. And trying to convince myself to accept that I am "in retirement" from half marathons for the foreseeable future.  It's not because the foot pain has gotten overwhelming, or because it is preventing me from running, because it is doing neither of those things.  But it is there.  And it is not going away.  Some days I don't notice it at all.  Other days it is just strong enough to be annoying and remind me that it hasn't left yet.  I was up to 8 mile runs, but I could just tell that half marathon distance and speed were unattainable.  And if I am giving up on my fall half marathons, what is the point in pushing it?  I have a bike and an indoor trainer, so it's not like I won't be able to get adequate exercise if I quit running.  It will prolong my lung issues, I believe, since they are still not resolved, and running is the only thing that really makes them work, but oh well.  I am resigned to spending a lot of money on asthma drugs for the foreseeable future.  The most frustrating part about that, is that if I'm not running like I used to, it is hard to say how effective the drugs are.

I have been against going to the doctor for this foot for various reasons.  The primary reason being that my other foot was more painful, and I spent roughly $1000 on doctors/tests/PT only to find out that the only thing that would help was rest.  I don't have another $1000 to spend for that.  I would be willing to spend money if I knew of a good sports medicine doctor that would explore all possibilities to keep me running.  But I don't know of one.  A friend of mine who works at the hospital has talked to a doctor she knows who might be able to help me.  So I might go see that doctor, we'll see.


In other news, even if I "quit" running, I will still be doing jogs here and there.  A year ago, I tried to start a "Pub Run" in Lewisburg.  It never happened.  I brought up the idea again a few weeks ago.  The first one was scheduled for Sept 7.  A bunch of people had expressed interest, but I think at the time, they didn't realize that it was Labor Day.  I showed up at the meeting place, but no one else did.  I assumed people had gotten busy with the holiday, and resolved not to give up after just one day.  One of my friends told me for sure that they would come to the run this week, so I showed up again.  When I arrived, there was already someone else waiting.  And then another person showed up.  Add my friend and I, and there were 4 of us for the Inaugural Lewisburg Pub Run.  (Roanoke has a weekly pub run that draws somewhere around 100 runners).  We had a good time doing a flat 3 mile jog, and then headed to the Irish Pub for $3 drafts.  All four of us knew of other people that were planning on joining the run sometime in the weeks coming up.  So it looks like this attempt has been a success.  I am hoping that the group will grow, and that it will help bring together the Lewisburg running community.  I think I started the Facebook group for Lewisburg runners about 2 years ago, and it has over 100 members, but there has never been any kind of organized running club.

3 of us made it to the Pub after our run.

See how happy we are to have participated in the Inaugural Pub Run?

In addition to leading the Pub Run each week, I will also continue to jog with one of my 8th grade students once a week for as long as she is interested in continuing.

This week : 

M : 40 min trainer (10.6), 3 mile Pub Run

T : 30 min trainer intervals* (7.9), 3 mile jog w/Luna

W : 22.4 miles with Stu

F : 30 min trainer (7.8)

Sa :26 miles

total miles run : 6

total miles biked : 74.7

* intervals : warm up, 1 min hard/3 min easy x5, cool down

I finished out my week with a ride around the fields today.  Thankfully Pony let me walk up to her today, unlike last Sunday when I had to chase her around the field for an hour before she would let me catch her.  

This guy was hanging out right in front of the barn door.  

The cats were trying to reach him under the door. 

They were not happy with me for not letting them out.

Pony never misses a good post-ride roll.

Post-roll glamour shot.

Such a pretty day.

There were a bunch of monarch butterflies flying around,

 but they were too fast for me to focus my zoom lens.