Being Real Here

So what exactly is a Plantar Fasciitis? Well, first it's that annoying (well annoying to me) tendon that runs from your toes to the base of your heel. At the end of those tendons there is fascia. The injury part is when that tendon gets inflamed; and causes your heel to feel like it's getting poked with needles.

How did I get mine? It most likely started when I was running hills once a week. I heel strike on the way down, and in the Race 2 the Summit, I heel stuck for 6 glorious miles. I was heel striking on the treadmill for a whole weeks worth of running my last week I ran. That's practically 6-8 weeks of having improper form. Needless to say I know what I will be adding to my work outs when I can start running again, FORM DRILLS.

The other culprit is tight calves and achilles. Guilty.  I do not stretch as much as I should be. I also know what I need to make sure I'm doing - at least one yoga class a week, and STRETCHING after every run.

***I got my sources here, here, and some pamphlets from the doctor.
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Some goals through the end of the year and some realizations:

Treadmill running shouldn't be your ONLY form of training - and in my case NOT the way to train. A lot of people get injured spending too much time on the treadmill, and I definitely cannot afford to get injured again.

I don't like not running. I miss my running endorphins. So I need to train smart. I had this conversation with my mom, and deep down inside I knew I was being really ambitious with this training plan. I want to be faster and that is a realistic goal. I want to eventually run a sub 2 hour half marathon. I had a huge PR at this last race, but you really do run down hill faster than your typical pace. I'm not saying I didn't "earn" the time, but to have a sub 2 hour half would mean I would be going from an 11:00 minute mile to a 9:00 mile - this is something that can take people YEARS to achieve.

I'm going back to basics. I am altering the plan I have. I will stick with the distances, but I will go with a more comfortable pace. I will only have one speed day a week, and it will be a tempo type of run; something easier on the body, and by easier I mean no sprinting.

Like I said above, I will have one day of yoga, and I will incorporate form drills after my easier runs. As always, keep working on that core, and maybe my noodle arms ; ).

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I can't leave you all depressed! So on a happier note. Yesterday was our two year wedding anniversary, you can read about the wedding here. MMR and I are pretty low key, and pretty busy this time of year. We opted to save some change by making dinner at home, and exchanging small gifts - I like gifts.

Go-Gurt is the way to his heart.

Donuts is the way to my heart.

We had a romantic evening planned with ribs and delicious veggies, but I was not paying attention to the fact that it takes hours to cook ribs. Note the time was 6:00PM when I figured this out. So we decided to go to Winger's and split some wings and sides. We ate the so fast I forgot to take a picture, sorry. But I did capture MMR and his humungo Mack&Jack.'