I had a bit of an issue the evening before last. I slipped on the stairs in our home and injured my left foot. Thought it might be a broken bone at the time, but after running on it the next morning I figured it was more likely a tendon/ligament issue. It was sore this morning, but felt I could give it a go today, hoping it wouldn't get worse.
My confidence level these days heading into a race is not what it used to be several years back. Calf problems derailed my year last year. So far this year my calf muscles have been a non-issue. But my feet are becoming a problem. One that I probably won't be able to overcome with time. Arthritis in my toes, particularly my left toe, continues to worsen over time. My running is not causing the problem, as I had minor issues with arthritis 10 years ago before I began running again. It's age and I can't reverse that clock.
Today's race weather was virtually perfect. Sunny and 45 degrees at the start, 55 degrees at the finish, with a mild NW breeze. A great day to run a great time. However my left foot was problematic throughout the race. The injury from my fall two days earlier only bothered me when we made left hand turns. It was my left big toe joint connected to the ball of my foot that throbbed painfully every time it struck the ground. So much so that it was hard to relax and focus on my stride because the pain was ever-present.
I did maintain a 7 minute mile pace over the first 8 miles, but struggled after that. Fatigue certainly factored in as it always does, but I wondered how much the foot pain issues accelerated my fatigue. My stride was compromised and I wasn't able to run relaxed. Going into the race I felt I should be able to run under 1:35 today with such good weather conditions, but was really hoping to run 1:33 or better. However the combination of pain and fatigue got the best of me in 3 of the final 5 miles - the hill miles.
I did finish just under 1:35 with a time of 1:34:54 today. But I'm really seeing some slippage in my race times compared to several years ago. In my mind, I still feel like I should be able to run closer to a 1:30 half marathon, but maybe I've hit a wall and I need to be satisfied with the fact that my times are going to slip a bit from here on. I just don't want to accept it, or believe it yet. So my time today was not satisfying. If everything goes right, on a good weather day and fast track, a 1:30, 1:31, or even a 1:32 still seems like a reasonable expectation. I have 3 more half marathons on my race calendar this year. So one way or the other, I will find out if my personal expectations are legitimate, or if I'm simply fooling myself with these goals.
As far as today's race results go. I finished 50th overall among 1,052 finishers and 2nd of 16 in my age group.
My next race is the Medtronic TC 1 Mile on May 11th. The only "short" race on my calendar this year with the exception of a traditional Thanksgiving morning 5k I do each year. I had planned to run the TC 1 Mile last year, but pulled out due to the calf issues I previously mentioned, which developed during my short distance, faster races early last season. Hoping I can run a solid/fast time next month without further complicating my battle with "Father Time."
Results and Finish video:
http://www.mtecresults.com/runner/show?race=5236&email=1&rid=197
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