Training in Montana

6 miles in 12 degree temps but with no wind at all so it was actually pretty pleasant. Wore my fleece neck gaiter and I was comfortable. My left foot started feeling better yesterday, I'm guessing because I didn't run Saturday or Sunday. On my run I felt it on every step, and now today it's hurting more when I walk. Hmph. I asked a PT friend what it might be and he wasn't too optimistic. He said there's nothing at the top of the foot that typically hurts. It "might" be a ligament, but he leaned toward a possible stress fracture. Any thoughts from the peanut gallery?

AP: 8:16 

At lunch I couldn't resist the temptation to go to Boot Camp. Maybe every other Monday. It was brutal. It's always tough but definitely tougher the mornings I run my normal distance. Hopefully I won't be sore until Saturday like I was last time. 

Foot hurts after running & doing Boot Camp yesterday. Resting it for a while - not sure how long. I still haven't iced or anything, but activity definitely hurts it. After not running Saturday or Sunday it felt pretty good Monday morning, but I was almost limping to work today from my car. Not quite a limp, but I could feel it and it sort of hurt. Argh. How long do I rest it and/or at what point do I go see the Dr.? I need to do the elliptical - maybe tonight. Thanks Peg for the elliptical!

After reading about stress fractures on an Ortho website, I think I might have one. I scheduled an appointment with the Dr. today, well his PA as he wasn't available until Friday but she'll consult with him. I really hope it isn't this but it's been a week now with no change and if it's a SF then it will be 6-8 weeks of no running, and my 50K is 16 weeks from this Saturday, so that will give me only 8-10 weeks to ramp up. Boo. Hoping it's not a SF.

My 2 weeks of no running started today so I hit the Spin class that I've avoided for 3-4 years. It was pretty good. The last time I went to it I pushed myself too hard and about passed out as I could barely breathe. This time I took my HR monitor and that helped me regulate what I was doing. It's my cheap one and it only works correctly for 30 minutes it seems so I'll take my Garmin next time. I got the HR up to 170 during one of the "hill climbs" and that was a bit much. Felt a little heart flutter so I backed off for a while. I probably need to start doing more of the spin class as it works out totally different muscles. The guy leading the class does it Mondays & Thursdays and I've noticed how his classes are packed while other classes have 4 people in them. I think I'll go when he teaches. Great workout, sweat fest for 50 minutes, and my calves are good and sore. I guess I'll hit the elliptical tomorrow plus some upper body.

After finishing I did 10 pullups. I need a pullup bar at home. And not the toddler underwear type. 

2 elliptical miles. Man, those things are slow! I worked my butt off and did 50 minutes on the machine from hell, but thankfully had some interesting shows to watch. And I don't recall anything I watched, but it passed the time. I wore my Garmin HR monitor and kept the HR above 130 most of the time, got it up to 158 or so on the toughest parts. Good enough I guess. The elliptical HR monitor was always 10-20 bpm faster than my Garmin. I'll trust my watch.

Went to Bozeman Saturday & Sunday for a 7th grade basketball tournament. Did the elliptical for 30 minutes, worked up a great sweat. Kept the HR around 155 most of the time. Would've liked to do more but wasted away the afternoon chatting with other parents instead of doing something valuable. What was I thinking? "Ah...this feels nice to sit around and do nothing." Was a fun weekend. Really miss my long runs. Was thinking about hitting the rec room again at 10:15 pm after putting the kids to bed as we didn't get a suite so nowhere to hang out. My wife said the dreaded words: "You're obsessed." No, I'm not, I said in my defense. I haven't done my long run for 3 weeks in a row now and I'm losing all that I've worked on. I also lost the argument so went to Wal-Mart after gassing up the car....