Friday, December 17, 2010

Snowshoeing in the CVNP

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This afternoon I met my brother and Dan Bellinger in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park for a couple hours of snowshoeing.  This was my first time wearing the new snowshoes that I bought last week and they performed really well.  We had a great time and enjoyed hiking through approx. 8 inches of snow in areas that weren’t packed down.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

I’m Back!

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The arch of my left foot started to get really sore during the 2nd half of Bills Bad Ass 50K last month and lingered around for awhile afterwards, so I decided I better take some time off to rest it.  I believe what I’ve been dealing with for the past 4 weeks is plantar fasciitis – a common injury among runners.  The other day I felt like I was finally turning the corner though and could start running again.  So, of course I picked today to do it, with temperatures in the teens and sub zero 30 mph wind gusts.  I guess you could say that the weather elements gave me the added incentive I needed to get outside and challenge myself.  Winning a spot in next year’s Massanutten Mountain Trails 100 miler for the 3rd year in a row has also helped rekindle my fire.  Even though I felt some soreness in my left arch after tonight’s run I felt pretty good overall during the run.  I’ll just have to keep reminding myself to gradually increase my mileage to avoid any issues.