102.9 miles

Yeah, 102.9 miles on the Brooks PureFlow.

I'm thinking it's NOT the shoes that are making me hurt. It's the lack of sustained training that is doing it. If I hadn't been sick and missed a week, I don't think I would be having this problem with my Achilles. I am not exactly happy right now. It didn't hurt Yesterday until a couple hours after I ran. I even went home to wrap and ice it right away. I thought that would help. It seems that if I stay off of it, it hurts MORE! Does that make any sense? I sat at the movies with my mom last night and when we left I had trouble walking. Again this morning I had trouble getting started. I hope I am able to run tomorrow. We are supposed to go 12. I want to go 12. I want to be able to finish this damn half marathon I am signed up for.

The run was great yesterday though. I took a day off to do things I know my dad would be proud of. April 12 is the anniversary of the end of his life. I miss him so much. It may seem odd to some that I went shopping that morning after having coffee and a light breakfast. Dad always ate breakfast, usually drank coffee, and always liked to find a good bargain. I tried my best! There were no good deals to be found for me. I did find a watch at walmart that claimed to be able to tell me distance traveled and speed without GPS. Yeah, well I took it back to the store. It said I went 2.6 miles when I mapped a 5 mile run. I also found that no store in Quincy (unless I missed something) actually sells GPS watches aka Garmins IN store. They all have to be ordered online. Now, I'm not opposed to that, I just want to get my hands on one.

Oops, got off track.

So anyway, I had a really great run. There was no pain. I am not sure why it still hurts now. the run was great... I started out at my house. I had an idea in mind for where I wanted to run. My phone GPS wasn't working for me either, so instead of taking the Cedar Creek trail, as I had planned (because it is oh so pretty and Dad would have loved it) I stuck to the roads that I could map later. Dad really would appreciate that too. He was big on keeping records of things. I'm sure that's where I get the tendency to do so as well. :) It was weird though because at a couple of points, I had to stop and walk due to a stitch in my side. As I decided to skip the trail (which is a paved bike path), I thought about possible alternate routes. There was 12th street I could try to climb, but that big hill was not what I was aiming for, or I could go the "back way" in to the cemetery off the highway. I think it is actually the main entrance, I just never go in that way. You see, My destination was my father's grave. I have gone to visit from time to time, and this was an important day for me to go there. I had some things to get off my chest. It all came out in tears. He is in my heart, he is always with me. I will forever miss him. Then as I was crying, it was like someone told me that it is NOT what dad would want. He would want me to go on. So I went. I ran, and ran, and ran some more. I followed some internal guidance and got myself home. I didn't cry any more that day.

{I must say that writing this one is hard, but really easy at the same time. I am not crying any more at the thought of losing my father, but rather, smiling with all the memories}

When I got home, I got my foot wrapped and iced. I got cleaned up and took the watch back. I got my kid picked up, fed them both and sat around the house. I think the sitting and not being on my foot actually contributed to it hurting. By the time I sat through the movie, it was hard to walk. This morning was no fun either. I'm worried about tomorrow. I will take it slow and easy (that's the plan anyway). I'm going with the BTG group because of the sheer number of people that will be on hand in case of something catastrophic. I will have stuff in my car to help me as well.

Pray with me

~Happy Running