My foot has shown remarkable improvement over the past few days, and I don't think it's just because I swapped over to Aleve and medicated myself into numbness. Yesterday I discovered that I could walk without a dramatic limp and that the stepping motion which causes my toes to bend upwards didn't result in sharp, balance-losing pain. Last night, the top of my foot even felt itchy like a healing bruise.

The top of my foot is still swollen, but its feel more superficial now that I'm not in constantly pain with every step. I even half-jogged back to the locker room when I forgot my ipod yesterday afternoon. Okay, maybe not half jogged; limp-bounced in an awkward fashion.

All in all, I have high hopes that I'll be in good enough condition to run the 5k on Sunday. This might seem a bit optimistic. But really, how much damage can I do in 30 minutes? Or if I do damage, how long will it take to actually physically manifest itself in a debilitating manner? More than 30 minutes is what I'm betting!

The other option would be to skip the race and focus on healing in order to pull a normal time at the BAA 5k in April. That's 5 weeks out. I just really want the RNH medal, and to jog in costume. I added a green tie from target to my festive outfit this year. I don't want to waste that $1.00 elasticized tie.

I'll be back with an update later this week. Today is leg day. We'll see how calf raises go.

Jinglebell 5K

I finished the 5K. I had some cute socks to be mildly festive this year. While I wasn't out to impress anyone with my time, I ended up stopping about 1/4 mile to the end when a girl wiped out on some black ice. A number of people stopped, but they kept asking "Is anyone with her? Are you her friend? Are you with her?" rather than running for help. So I ran for help. It was really weird. I mean, I get that you want to make sure she's in good hand (albeit crying and clutching her knee) so you can finish the race, but the group of people I was rolling through the finish with were clearly not competitive runners that were going to blow a PR. Trust me, I was on a leisurely jog.

My friend snapped some nice MIX marketing photos of me post-race, showing off my padded, out of shape figure. We then left to go drinking.

Pain serves a worthy purpose

Pain by itself is merely pain, but the experience of pain coupled with an understanding that the pain serves a worthy purpose is suffering. Suffering can be endured because there is a reason for it that is worth the effort. - Gary Zuvak

This morning was the annual Ras na hEireann 5K race. It has at least doubled in size this year with 5,000 registered runners. I swear, it was only 2,000 last year, but perhaps I'm wrong. They shifted the start line to Highland this year rather than Somerville Ave outside The Burren.

I ran a PR, barely. Not exactly the pace I had been aiming for. I was hoping to run between an 8:00-8:15 min/mile. Instead, I ran 8:40min/mile, coming in with a chip time of 26:55. The reasons behind my failure were twofold.

(1) I pushed too hard, too soon. I set myself up at the 8 min/mile mark. With the 8 minute racers. So I hit the first mile at 8:10min. And that's almost exclusively uphill. I felt my speed drop off after that. I knew it was going to be bad when I was over 17 minutes in at the 2nd mile marker. There was no way to make up that time.

(2) Yesterday's run hit me full force around the 2nd mile. My quads started to ache - the way they ache I'm around 9-10 miles into a long run. I didn't give my legs enough time to rest between the long easy run yesterday and the hard, fast short run today. That was a mistake that wore me down after the first kick.

The weather was around 56 degrees, I believe. A light wind, but then again, that might have just been the breeze created by the 1,000 or so runners ahead of me. Very sunny, warm. I wore a long-sleeve wicked shirt under my cottom race-t-shirt, along with a pair of knee-length tights. It was hot. As I walked there, I was trying to figure out a way to publicly remove the long sleeve t-shirt from under the short sleeve in public. I never came up with a plan before the race started.

Anyway, it was a festive atmosphere. There was an adorable beagle with his owners standing nearby me in the starting crowd. The little guy was super excited and just kept howling endlessly, incessantly in that way only beagles can manage. As soon as the race started, he and his dad took off. I swear, that beagle was literally pulling along the owner - and he was no slow runner. I have a blurry photo of it.
The adorable, howling, racing beagle.

Statistics:
Fillies: 31/171
Overall: 1448/4151

Everyone got their finisher's medal, which was adorable this year with a built-in bottle opener. Running and drinking really is the theme of the race. It ends at a variety of local pubs. You buy the beer, but theoretically some of the bars have food. The awards are presented at The Burren, which along the the other big nearby pubs had lines headed down the street within ten minutes of my personal finish.
Post-race line outside The Burren

Post-race line outside Joshua Tree

There were lots of fun, spirited outfits running the race, but a couple of these guys really stood out. Oh and did I mention The Bear who was lined up in the 6-7min/mile pace? Holy. He ran that in a bear suit! He was way far ahead of me by the end.
The Bear, chillin' in the crowd, like any other runners.

Look closely at this crowd, what's missing?

A patriotic hair-do