Discipline

Disciplined people do things based on a plan. They set a goal and follow the plan until they achieve their goal.  I see many disciplined people everyday. I know several runners who are very disciplined. I see them everyday at the HRTC. They show up early in the morning, at the same time, and they train hard. They are consistent. They are achievers. They will accomplish anything they want.

We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort. --Jesse Owens

Christmas Party at Borlaug

The Orff Club played some Christmas songs at Borlaug's gym for all students and parents. It is so fun to listen to these talented kids perform such beautiful music. Sophia is not in Orff Club yet because she has to wait to be on third grade. Sophia had a party in her classroom and watched a movie. 

Friday is our rest day. Karen and I went walking for a couple of miles this morning. No running or elliptical machine this morning. I bet my legs will thank me for that! No wind. Although it was cold, it was bearable.
Fasted this morning and went to the hospital for a blood test. Let's hope my sugar levels are normal. 

Doctor appointment

The Garmin failed again. I tried to get it started, and it kept going from one screen to the next. No way to stop it. I had to put it in my pocket and forget about it. It feels so weird to exercise without it! Went to the doctor for a normal check up.  Lungs are fine. Heart is fine. I'd wish I could say the same thing about my feet! 

Exercised at the CRWC while Assen was diving. Ran/Walked on this programmable treadmill. Walked for one minute @ 18 MM, and ran for 0.1 M @ 14 MM. Feet behaved properly. I hope I can do some running tomorrow at the HTRC. 

Sophia and I learned a little bit about coding.  It was a nice tutorial in the computer.  I hope we can keep learning a little bit more. It would be great to be able to create our own apps. 

Interval Walk/Run

Unbelievable weather this weekend.  Dan said it was older running on the beach in Florida and Oswaldo Lopez showed pictures of Yosemite covered in snow. Didn't know what to wear for the 48 F temperature. I was definitely overdressed. Parked in the commuter lot and walked to Ashton Cross Country. Started my gymboss app and ran 1 min and walked one minute for two laps. Left foot was in pain, but it was bearable. 

I believe some pain on the foot is OK. It was injured and this is hard work for it. But, my body is telling the foot it needs to heal fast because the body needs it. Well, this was the first time in a long time running outside.  I will get on the interval machine this week and give my foot a break this week. I don't believe next weekend will be as nice as this one. I bet we'll be walking in snow. 

Tabata Training

I am starting to get back into running. Very slowly. Since I have been training on the elliptical machine for almost three months, I feel I am getting a better hang of it.  I enjoyed doing the elliptical without holding the handle bars.  Also, once in a while (once or twice a week), I enjoy doing Tabata workouts. Today, I did some warming up for about 5 to 10 minutes, then went as fast as I could (90-100 RPM) for one minute, then one minute rest, and I repeated this ten times. These Tabata workouts are tough, but I really believe they are really good workouts.

Garmin Connect

I rested yesterday. Did only walking in the morning for about two miles.  That was a good rest day. Thursday, I ran on the CRWC track.  Did a little bit of running and walking intervals.  I hope that helps me back into running. Tomorrow, I plan to run on the Ashton Cross Country field. That should be easy on my feet. 

Kirk Ferentz

Kirk Ferentz is the University of Iowa football coach since 1999. Currently, he makes more than 3.775 million dollars per year. He is the highest paid employee in the state. He walks and drives a car like everybody else. No security people around him. No need for that in this country. 

I wonder how different people who make this kind of money has to live in Mexico. Can they walk around wherever they want to? I am very happy to live in this country. Here, we respect each other. We take care of each other. We need to keep this country the way it is or better. 

Ayotzinapa

September 26. 43 missing students. Iguala, Guerrero.
Students are found dead. Burned into ashes.

Last Tuesday of October

My foot is still hurting. But, this morning, it was not hurting as much depending how I put my feet on the ground. It hurts the most if I try to walk on tiptoes. 

Assen stopped practicing basketball, but he is going to try out diving on  Wednesdays. I need to check my schedule and I hope to be able to drive him to CRWC. I could exercise some while he is in diving. 

Leaves are falling off the trees. Autumn goes so fast. 

Run for the Schools 5K

To be, or not to be. To run or not to run. Decided to try to run next to my daughter. Things went just fine. Pain was as bad as when I walk, no more, no less. First mile with family. Second mile thought I could go a little bit faster, so ran with a neighbor. Third mile, I felt I could do even better, so I sent solo passing hundreds of people. Passed the finished line in about 33 min. I really enjoyed the race. No pressure to break a PR, just have fun. 

Garmin: http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/615881839

Run for the Schools: http://www.runfortheschools.com/

Hump Day

Had to do some exercise. Went on my bicycle for eight miles. Legs are feeling stronger.  I hope my foot is healing too.  Foot still hurts when I walk. Sometimes it hurts more, sometime it hurts less. 

Garmin link: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/613417953

Weather is getting cold, but it still allows me to ride the bike (waring some layers). 

One day at a time

Foot is healing but it still hurts. I signed up my family for the Run for the Schools 5K race. It looks most probably like I will not be running. One day at a time. Foot is feeling stronger, but it hurts in some weird places when I walk. I know this foot has to eventually heal, right?

Chicago marathon last Sunday was great. I followed Lisa Uhl and Nadia Ruiz.  Both of them did an spectacular job (2:40 and 3:19 respectively). 

Monday October 13 2014

My foot had less pain than usual this morning. That gave me a big smile on my face. Last night, I did some walking on the treadmill (2 X 5 five minutes). I'd like to do some more walking  to strengthen the foot. 

We did a little bit of walking in the woods yesterday. I wore my hiking boots to protect my foot. I believe it actually worked. 

Especially for You 5K

5K Race started at 8:00 AM. There were thousands of runners/walkers wearing blue. It was a new route. Assen, Sophia, and I walked very fast to a spot where we could spot the runners. I took pictures of some runners, including the lead pack.

Then, we moved to a second spot where we could see the lead pack again. The second place was a female runner!

Karen finished in sub 9 MM pace, 27:57.4 min. Not as good as last year.

My foot still hurts. I did a lot of walking during the race.  I hope my foot was strong enough for all the fast walking I had to do. I am getting frustrated not knowing when I will be ready to run again. At least, my bicycle is getting some use these days, but the cold weather is not forgiving. 

Friday October 3rd 2014

The pain on the foot has continued, particularly when I have to walk some distance. I chose to start wearing the air-boot yesterday. It is very uncomfortable to walk in the boot, but it seemed that at the end of the day, the foot felt like it really rest. I will continue to use the air-boot as much as I can. 

Saturday September 27th

The left foot has been resting now for three weeks. The foot still looks inflamed. I will start putting my foot in epstrom-water bath.  I've heard about the healing properties of magnesium sulfate and I hope it works on my foot 

There was no running and minimum walking this week. However, the foot is still in pain, especially at night, but it feels better in the mornings. 

Bicycling does not seem to hurt my foot. I did eight miles of bicycling this morning with Harim. Sophia practiced gymnastics while we rode our bikes to Tiffin and back. This girl is learning more moves and she is being improving every session. 

Sunday September 21

Two weeks of rest and the foot appears to be healing. It still hurts when walking, but it feels like it is getting stronger. The bicycle has been getting more use these couple of weeks. The eight mile ride from North Liberty to Tiffin was very good. Horacio has done this trip twice while Sophia practices gymnastics. Hopefully, he will continue to make this trip while weather allows.

Hump Day

My right foot has never felt this good. Unfortunately, can't say the same about the left one. However, it is healing slowly. How I long to be without pain. Totally pain free. I have been patient this time and I am taking it very easy.  No more pounding on my feet. Just some biking and kayaking.
Unfortunately, temperatures are going down. Maybe I will start using the treadmill when my foot gets better.

Saturday September 13 2014

It's been one week after the injury. Foot is slowly getting better. Still a little bit inflamed and it still hurts a little bit when I walk. I rode the bike for almost five miles this morning. Temperatures are getting colder and it is harder to ride the bike in cold weather.
Rode the bike from Synergy to Tiffin (four miles each way) while Sophia was practicing gymnastics. 

Tuesday September 9th 2014

Did no exercise. Rest, rest, rest. I am able to put a little more pressure on the foot. It still hurts, but it is getting better. Being taking ibuprofen.

Monday September 8, 2014

Foot is slowly getting better. I can walk slowly as long as I just keep the pressure on the hill. Foot still looks inflamed. Taking ibuprofen.
Cycled on the bike for 2.73 miles around the neighborhood. 

Sunday September 7th 2014

Left foot looks very inflamed. Took a couple of ibuprofen in the morning. It is hard to walk. I can only put weight on my hill, otherwise the rest of the foot hurts.

When will I be able to walk without pain?

I was able to ride the bicycle to Trueblood Area. I did some kayaking there too. That was a total of 15 miles (two loops around the lake). 

Saturday September 6th 2014

Left foot stress fracture.

Most probably a stress fracture -left foot. Went running this morning after resting for two days. Had to catch up Karen who left just a few seconds before me.  After running for about a mile and a half, the top of the foot started hurting. I tried to ignore the pain thinking it would go away, but it didn't. It got worse and worse. Had to walk because it was impossible to run. By the time I got home, the pain was so intense I could not even walk. I am wearing the air-cast hoping it helps.

Dam to Backpocket 7 Miler

School buses took us to Coralville dam. Apparently, I rode one of the last buses.  There were buses for the 5K and buses for the 7 miler. The bus was 60% full. It arrived to the dam and took us to the top of the road. Saw some familiar faces, David and his daughter. Also saw Dan and Lauren, and decided to stay with them. 

Race started a few minutes after five PM and there was this downhill all within the first mile, so I took advantage of gravity. But then, we had to climb the road. This speedy lady in front of me was really struggling to run up the hill. I tried to keep up with her. Then, flat road. Stayed with a guy about my age.  Dan and Lauren were behind me. 

Debuque Road. Not far, had to change sides. Then, it was all familiar course. Saw the mile three post. Then, we got to the Water Park. Sun was hitting us badly, but we just kept going. There was a lot of room between runners at this time. Went through the I-80 tunnel and knew the Peninsula uphill was coming, but I made it. Peninsula Neighborhood. Hot. Dog park. I knew the end was coming. Last mile. A guy about my age in a blue shirt caught up with me.  I had to let him go. Although I tried to keep up with him.  It helped me to maintain the pace. Almost passed him, but he didn't let me. Crossed the finish line. We shook hands and he congratulated me for a good race! Amazingly, I shaved about 20 seconds off last year's. 

Time: 56:28 min.

Pace: 7:58 MM.

Garmin Connect: http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/572204330

Lauren Hill and me. 

Lauren Hill, Dan Beck and his son, Jordan. 

David Nelson and his daughter. 

Amana Colonies Backroads Half Marathon

Saturday, August 9, 2014. Amana Colonies Backroads Half Marathon. Dan, Cristie, and Dave met with me in my house early morning. I drove to Amana Colonies and we arrived with plenty of time before the start. Race started at 7:30 AM. The night before I picked up my bib and package, and also drove the 13 miles of the course to explore it and check out the hills we had to run. I knew what to expect more or less.

Race started and I ran close to Dave and Dan for a few miles. Pace was very close to 8:00 MM. There were a few young girls in front of us, and it was my desire to catch them. I thought they were going to slow down running up the hills, but they didn't. I was able to catch one or two, but they passed me again after a few miles. 

I remember running with a nice girl for the last few miles. She asked me which way to turn close to the last two miles. She said she was ready to have a beer or two. I wasn't able to keep up her pace and had to let her go. She finished like three or four places ahead of me. I slowed down for the last few miles. 

We got a pretty nice medal at the end of the race. We took some pics and got hydrated.

UI Track

My Garmin has not been working properly, the reset button is not working. Therefore, it cannot record properly my 800's chronos. I have been carrying a stop watch, which works great. Every 800 was less than 3:30, sometimes 3:15. Pushed a little bit too hard. Decided to wear the Newtons. Unfortunately, I was having this pain on top of the foot (right foot). Pain increased after running.  Not sure what caused the injury, was it the tennis shoes? was it pushing it too hard? most probably... both.

August

The trip to Cozumel was very exciting. Took a snorkling trip in a glass-bottom boat. The guys took us to three reefs. The first one was called El cielo. Then, we went to Colombia. The water was calm and super clear.

I did four dives. All of them were super exciting. I believe we went as deep as 65 feet. I really would like to get my own gear. Need to save some money.

We ran almost every day. Ran on the sandals wearing my toe-socks. My feet were hurting, but I guess it is normal, after giving them so much work. 

Luna Sandals

It's hard to believe I have been walking and running on the Luna sandals for only 18 days. It feels like my feet are getting stronger already. I am bringing them in my trip to Cozumel and I plan to use them all day long. 

UI Track on Wednesday

My left calf felt better and blisters did not bothered me at all. Decided to run intervals wearing the Newton running shoes. Temperature was very nice (supposed to have a polar vortex). My body felt pretty good, fresh, and had lots of energy. Six 800 intervals and one 400. 

800 m	3:23 min	6:33 MM
800 m	3:27 min	6:50 MM
800 m	3:14 min	6:20 MM
800 m	3:17 min	6:25 MM
800 m	3:17 min	6:27 MM
800 m	3:26 min	6:52 MM
400 m	1:25 min	5:35 MM

Garmin: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/543136451

Bix@6 and calf tightness

Last Thursday was the last chance to practice the Bix7 course before the race. The Bix7 is one of the most famous races in the Midwest. The practice started at 6:00 PM after singing the national anthem.  There were thousands of runners and water was provided at some points of the course.

Decided to run on the Luna Sandals.  Of course, I forgot to bring my Garmin GPS watch, when I most needed it. Ran with Bobbie most of the race. I finished it in a little more than 60 minutes.  That was an 8:35 MM pace. I guess we ran faster than that.  Once I stopped because a runner stopped to tie his shoe and I wanted to run with him for a while. I also stopped to get water a couple of times. It was nice to see some runners I know during and after the race. The best part was running with so many other good runners. Very inspiring. 

A terrible bloody blister occurred on my second toe, right foot. It started bleeding after mile three. Another blister happened on my left foot, also second toe. They looked really bad after the run. 

Also, my left calf got extremely tight.  It's been two days, and the calf is still very tight. Not sure what to do. I hve been doing some easy stretching exercises, but they barely help. The good news is that when it warms up, it gets better, not worse. 

Luna Sandals Second Day

This was my second day on the Luna Sandals. My feet were hurting this morning. They felt like they had been beaten, but it did not feel like they had any lesion. Tried to warmed them up a little bit with some walking around the house and then went for an easy run. A few minutes after I started running, my feet felt better, and ended up logging 4.6 miles. Did not wear socks this time. Wanted to test and see if my toes could stand the nylon cord between my toes. Not a problem. 

Luna Sandals First Day

My Luna Sandals arrived yesterday morning. I tried them on and went for a walk for about 1 mile. They felt like I was barefoot walking. This morning, I was planing to run just about four miles. But, because of the tremendous rain we had last night, we had to change routes and ended up running about 5.6 miles on the Luna sandals. 

I experienced some pain on top of the foot after a few miles (more than four miles). But, pain went away. I wore toe socks because I did not want to risk getting a blister between the toes. Hopefully, it will not occur. 

Backpocket

Found out that I have a few extra days to submit my proposal. An image appeared in FaceBook by Running Wild asking runners to meet at Backpocket at 6:00 PM for a training workout. I saw my watch and realized I just had enough time to go home and change. Got to the meeting point and saw just a few runners. Ran with Ashley and her boyfriend Jeff. Decided to go for about six miles @ 9 MM pace. We did pretty good, except they decided to go back after two miles and not three. So, I ran for miles solo trying to maintain the pace. 

Wasn't sure what shoes to wear, but I went for the Merrell. They felt so tight, I'd wished I could have ran in the sandals. I should remember this for Saturday's morning run. 

Kewash Half Marathon

Although I haven't had any long runs lately, I decided to run this half. Not sure what shoes to wear, but decided to run in the Newtons. Dan and I got to Washington a few minutes after seven, and hanged around until the race started. Met some fellow runners from Iowa City and North Liberty. 

Race started and two girls were ahead of me. So, I went on the chase. Caught the first one and passed her. Caught the second one and passed her! No more girls to chase. The young girl caught up with me, but I sprinted for a short distance ("jaloncito") and her mind gave up. 

Turned around at half, and started to slow down. It was hard running alone -solo and very tired, of course! The guys in front of me were way ahead, but I wasn't sure how far was the group behind me.  Kept running. Slowed down quite a lot, but I just kept going. According to my Garmin, I finished in about 1 hr 47 min 40 sec. That's about a 8:13 MM pace. 

I believe I finished in third place overall! I can't wait to see the official results posted on FB.
Legs are very tired and feet hurts in many places, but it's just soreness. There were many moments during the race I'd wished I was wearing my sandals. But, I think it was not a good idea to try the sandals for 13 miles in a race!

Mas bicicleta

Thew sandals are getting more use these days.  I don't even want to try my old shoes anymore. However, my feet have gotten lots of rest in the last couple of days. I have ridden the bicycle for a couple of mornings on the Clear Creek Trail, almost a nine mile trail. The first two miles of the trail are kind of easy. But at the beginning of the second mile, there is a dip which is pretty hard to climb. Gotta get some speed, so it gets easier to reach the top. 

The six miler test

Decided to try the Columbia sandals in my run with Dan this morning. It was a six mile run at 0.5 to 1 min more than MP. Feet and legs did not hurt at all. My mind got tired but my body could still go for more. Feet and legs were tired when I got home, but they did not hurt afterwards. I am so glad there were no injuries and the stress fracture is hopefully past history now. 

Columbia Men's Riptide

Columbia Sandals

I have had these Columbia Sandals for several years and I really like them.  I recently found that I can also run with them.  So far, I have been wearing socks.  But I am tempted to run without the socks and see if they make any difference.  Can't believe this.  Have been buying running shoes and getting hurt. Now, I run on my old sandals and my feet are perfectly fine!

I would love to run a 5K with these sandals. No PR, just run for fun, maybe pacing my son.

Run Test

Ran the Melrose-Mormon Trek Loop (2.5 miles) in huaraches. Testing if the blister is getting better and can handle a short run. It did. Blister did not bother and stress fracture did not bother either. However, my body felt out of shape. Deciding what kind of run I can do tomorrow...  Probably going for four miles with Karen at a slow pace might be better than doing 2.5 miles at a faster pace.

More injuries

Came back from Merida. Decided to run in huaraches on Monday. Running felt good, but I got a blister on the bottom of my left foot close to my toes. The next day, decided to go for another run in huaraches. This time, the blister got worse and now I can hardly walk. It's only a blister, so I hope it gets better soon. The doctor recommended keeping the injury clean and putting an antimicrobial.  He also suggested some bandage and cushioning. 

Assen had a track meet yesterday (Iowa City Elementary Track and Field Days). He ran a couple of races, 50 m and hurdles).  He did very well, perfect running form (I am jealous).
Iowa City Elementary Track and Field Days

Walking Barefoot

Went to this indoor track at the Field House. Assen was swimming with his team while I went walking, barefoot walking. Listening to an audio book made time go faster. Couldn't resist to run for the last five minutes. I believe my foot is getting stronger. My left foot feels stronger though. I hope to start running after I come back from Mexico. 

RiverRun 5K 2014

Cannot express how much I enjoyed running next to my son for 5K. He is a very good swimmer, but not sure what kind of endurance runner he can be. I decided to let him do his own race, and my job was just to encourage him to keep going. He gave me a few excuses about why he needed to walk, but I encouraged him to just keep going and gave him a few tips while running. Although we did not run as fast as I wanted to, I was impressed with his energy and his will to do a good job. I hope we can run many other races together as a team. It was a great day for running. We ran at a 11:52 MM pace. I am very proud of him!

RiverRun 2014

Garmin Link

La bicicleta

The sport medicine doctor suggested me to stop running for four weeks and maybe bicycle instead. Weather has not been cooperative until this morning. Grabbed some clothes to bundle up and got on the bike. It felt so heavy, but that must be a better exercise. Rode to the end of the clear creek trail, which totaled almost nine miles. Cycling should be helping my legs get stronger, and hopefully, will allow me to stay away from injuries.

MRI on April 17

Talked to the sports medicine doctor and told him I still have some pain on the foot when I run.  He suggested me to get an MRI, which I got the next day.

This is what the doctor observed on the MRI:
Indication: Stress fracture of second metatarsal seen on the plain film.
Findings: There is heterogeneous cortical thickening of the second metatarsal bone that extends from the base of the metatarsal to the midshaft. There is mild marrow edema with mild surrounding periosteal edema. Lisfranc's ligament is intact. The remaining bony structures are intact. Otherwise, the signal within the musculature of the foot is unremarkable.

Recommendation: stop running for about four weeks. I am allowed to bike if biking does not cause any pain. Swimming is another option. 

It is so hard for me to stop running, but I will have to do it for the next four weeks. I will re-evaluate things by the last week of May. 

Boston Marathon 2014

I just cannot comprehend how Mark Bennett (bib: 390), 53 years old, finished the marathon in the amazing time of 2 hrs 34 minutes. On the other hand, Tyler Sullivan (bib: 339), one of the best young marathoners in Iowa City, 26 years old, finished the marathon seven minutes later! Long distance running is the only sport where something like this can happen! 

There are many sports, but definitely there is something very special about long distance running. This is one endurance sport where all ages can compete and have a chance to win.

Ashton Cross Country

Put on my Tarahumara huaraches and rode the bike to Ashton Cross Country field. I just ran one lap in the perimeter of the field. Distance: 1.85 miles around the perimeter. My legs felt fine and feet had no problem.  I just had a problem with the leather in between my toes on the right foot. Not sure why it was chafing, but the left foot was perfectly fine. I will try some body glide, or maybe my other running sandals next time. Saw another guy running barefoot. Also, early this morning we saw a woman running barefoot when we went for a walk with the kids. I am glad to see I am not the only crazy guy in Iowa City who believes in barefoot running.

Rest Day

Just went walking for a couple of miles this morning. Thinking about all the people I know who will be running Boston this Monday. My foot feels stronger, but not a 100% recovered. RiverRun 10K is coming in about 10 days. Plan to run with Karen this weekend and see how I feel. 

Motivation

We need to have goals. Short term goals and long term goals. We live by goals. Right now, my goal is to stay in shape and recover from injuries. I am looking forward to run the RiverRun 10K on Sunday April 27th. That will be my test to see if I can run the Ronald MacDonald Half Marathon on May 4th.
I had an MRI this morning to check on my stress fracture.  Can't wait to hear what the doctor has to say.Boston Marathon is coming.  I hope I can watch it on TV. I'll love to see Desiree Linden and Shalane Flanagan fight for the first place.
Last night I ran six 800's. Time was about sub 3:30 each. Speed was not bad, but I felt I could not do one more interval. Felt totally exhausted. 

Garmin Vivofit

Garmin has come with a new fitness wrist band. The band has a watch, it gives you your heart rate (as long as you are wearing a heart rate monitor around your chest), number of steps you've done during that day, and number of steps you need to reach your goal. 

I've had my VivoFit for about a week. It also lets you know when you have had an hour or more of inactivity. Being sedentary slows down your metabolism. I have been wearing my VivoFit most of the day (except when I shower). 

I have decided to watch more closely what I eat. This past week, I indulged myself with high fat food. I realize this is not good. It is not going to help my foot injury. Today, I started improving my nutrition. I hope to continue this way as much as I have increased my daily physical activity. 

I have also continued barefoot running. I try to hit the treadmill and do my barefoot workout there, walk and run barefoot. My goal for this month will be to be able to run barefoot for 10 minutes, at a very slow pace (15 MM). Slow pace will allow me to pay more attention to running form. 

RiverRun will be on Sunday April 27th. Haven't decided if I should run the 5K or the 10K. This weekend I ran a couple of five milers with my wife (at a slow pace). 

Barefoot Running

Have been running barefoot on the treadmill for up to five minutes. I have also walked barefoot for longer periods of time.  Almost no pain when running barefoot. I will keep running barefoot for a few minutes every other day, and will try to increase the time each week or so. Maybe one day I can run a 5K barefoot. 

Indoor Track Yasso's 800's

Although foot still hurts, I was able to complete six 800 m intervals (with the ladies).  These ladies really surprised me with their incredible endurance. When is my foot going to stop hurting?  I am trying to do some foot exercises to strengthen those tendons and muscles in the foot. I hope they work.

1	2	3	4	5	6
800	800	800	800	800	800
3:24	3:28	3:23	3:32	3:26	3:26

I believe my times are not that bad. Maybe I am getting better without noticing it. I doubt I was able to do more than six intervals though.

Pain on my Foot

I have been taking it easy for the last few weeks after the stress fracture (January 7th). The last track workout on Wednesday was tough as always, but I survived. Walking has been my new x-training. I have ran on the treadmill, but very slowly. Weather is slowly improving. A couple of trips to Mexico won't allow me to race, which is probably a good thing. I hope I can run the Ronald McDonald Half-Marathon on May 4th. That's a little bit more than a month away. 

Understanding why I got injured while running

Saturday. January 4th. Went for a long run. 12.4 miles. 

Sunday, January 5th. Sunday. Rested my feet. 

Monday, January 6th. CRWC.  Ran about 4-5 miles around the track. Feet feel just fine. 

Tuesday, January 7th. Went running to the Rec Center.  Ran a few laps very slowly. Suddenly I started to feel pain on the top of my foot. Stopped running and just walked. Pain still persisted. Went to work. I was limping while walking and went to visit the sport medicine doctor. Stress fracture on the second metatarsal. 

Tried to stay active without running. Wore a boot. Stopped running. Pain is still there. Frustration. Why did I get hurt?  It has taken me a while to learn why I got injured.  I have come to the conclusion I got injured because I don't know how to run.

I am learning that the answer is that I have to re-learn how to run. The answer is not barefoot running, it won't be that easy. Barefoot running is going to help me re-learn how to run. I will know I am not running correctly when I am barefoot. It is a lot harder to learn to run properly when I am wearing shoes.

Here's a great video of Prof. Daniel Lieberman explaining his hypothesis on why barefoot running.

Rules for Good Running:
1. Do not over stride.  Over striding leads to heel striking.
2. Do not lean your body. Keep a nice upright posture. Posture - Rhythm - Relaxation.
3. Keep a high cadence.

Strengthening your feet and legs will keep you away from injuries. Improving your form will keep you away from injuries.

Another video of Prof. Daniel Lieberman.