15.5 Miles in Rain with Sore Foot

Monica met me this morning at 5:00 in Ithaca so we could run 16 miles together. This means that I got up at 3:45 and left the house by 4:25am. Crazy.

I wore my reflective vest since the first hour plus was in total darkness. Amazingly, we didn't trip over anything or encounter anything scary and, in a way, running in the dark was good because I was surprised when we reached the three mile mark (our first water stop) because I hadn't been able to really see where we were.

We ran about 9 miles out (which seemed to take forever) and then turned back. By mile 3 my left foot was already feeling sore and by the turning point I was already feeling ready to be done. We walked a little bit off and on but it didn't really seem to make a difference and it was just making the run last longer so I tried to run most of the time. Monica suggested that she could run ahead and get the car and drive me back the rest of the way but ultimately we decided to just cut a little bit off of the run. It ended up being only a very little bit since we ran 15.5 miles. Still, I was glad to have spared myself the extra distance.

Altogether we ran for about 3 hours and 20 minutes. It seemed like a very long time, and it was. Plus, about mile 4 it started raining and then kept raining for the rest of the run. When I left the house the temperature said 61 degrees and I thought it would only get warmer so I ran in shorts and a t-shirt. Well, in Ithaca at 5:00 the temperature was about 58 degrees but then went down to about 56 by the end of our run. My fingers were so wet and cold by the end of the run I could barely undo the cap on the bottle of water and pour some into a cup.

An hour and a half after we finished running, my left foot is now so incredibly sore that it is painful to put weight on it so I might not run the Labor Day race in Skaneateles that I had planned. I'll see how I feel on Monday. When my foot really started bothering me after Wednesday's 8-mile run, I decided to make an appointment with Dr. Getzin of Finger Lakes Sports Medicine so I'm seeing him this Wednesday at 8:45. Depending on how my foot feels, I might not run again until after the appointment.

There wasn't a lot to see today since we ran in the dark and then the cold rain (which seemed to keep most things inside or under cover) but there was one notable sighting. We were on our way back, running by a farmhouse, when I heard loud bird honking sounds. I looked over and there, on the porch, were three large turkeys--one black and two white--pacing by the porch door, making a racket and looking exactly like they were waiting for someone to open the door and let them into the house. I guess they didn't like the cold, wet weather either.