dedication, perseverance, self-discipline

No run today.  I was planning on running in the lab to help another student with some research.  However, my foot is still bothering me a lot after I was dumb and bruised it on Friday evening.  It doesn't hurt to run with shoes on, but the research protocol called for me to run barefoot, which I did not feel comfortable doing right now.  We ended up deciding to have me wait another week or so for me to do the study.

I was still planning on running in the afternoon, but after getting home from looking at apartments with Kimia (we are probably going to move in August to a bigger place) Kimia had a headache and was not feeling good, so she took a nap and I ended up skipping me run in order to watch the kids while she slept.  So, I could have run today, but ultimately I didn't.  I am hoping that the extra day off will help my foot to feel better more quickly.

I ran 8 miles this morning in 1:04:48, with an average HR of 136 bpm.  It was very icy outside, so the effort was harder than my average pace would indicate.  It was also very cold outside, as the temperature at the end of my run was -3 degrees farenheit, and at the start it was somewhere between -3 and -8.

Considering the situation, I am not sure if this run would support my theory of good hydration = low heart rate.  In comparisson my hydration was much better today than it was on Saturday, but my average HR was only 1 bpm lower despite running my route in approximatley the same amount of time.  When I take into account the weather things become even less clear.  The positive is that my average HR was lower.  The negative is that during the last 4 miles of my run today (run in 32:07) my average HR was about 140 (compared to an average of 133 during the first 4 miles run in 32:41).  This causes me to think that maybe (if my theory is correct) I just need to maintain good hydration over a number of days or weeks and that my HR will drop incrementally the longer I maintain good hydration.  The other possibility is that my theory is completely wrong, and I am just grasping at straws (although if enough bad "straws" are taken out through trial and error, maybe I will finally figure out what is wrong with me.... I mean, its been over two years now and I still don't know what is causing my issues, and the doctors I have seen can't really seem to figure it out either excepting the pericarditis, the resolution of which only improved but did not cure adverse symptoms).

On another note, I feel like I should post an update regarding how my back and leg are doing.  My back and leg have been feeling much better of late as the things I have been doing to relieve the pain have been working.  On the other side of the coin, I feel like I am walking on a tightrope and that the slightest thing might set me off and lead to more pain.  There was a little bit of tightness and some mild discomfort this morning which extended into the beginning of my run, although I felt better as the run progressed.  Overall I have been very happy lately with how this problem has been progressing.  I have felt a certain sense of accomplishment from having figured out how to (mostly) get rid of any pain/discomfort without needing to bother seeing a doctor.

I ran 8 miles on the indoor track in 59:50, with an average HR of 150-151 bpm.  Bad day as far as HR goes.  I have been drinking a lot of water too, so this goes against my good hydration = low HR theory.  Even though I was running faster than I do when I am outside, I was seeing a HR above 140 even when I was running closer to 8:00 pace at the beginning of my run.  I have another theory which I think I may start looking into soon if this trend of high HR even when well hydrated continues.

My foot is still feeling fairly sore.  Today it was bothering me a little at the beginning of the run, but as the run progressed I did not notice it anymore.  My back felt decent, although a little stiff.

I ran 8 miles this morning in 1:03:10 with an average HR of 136-137 bpm.  So, HR was lower than yesterday, however it was still higher than is preferrable, and my HR during the second half of the run was much higher than during the first half (132 average during the first half, and about 140 average during the second half, similar to Tuesday).

It was very cold again as well, with temperatures at about -9 farenheit at the start of my run, -6 at the finish, and with windchill approaching -30 degrees.  This is the coldest weather I have ever gone out to run in, but I wore so much clothing that I wasn't really cold at all.

My foot only bothered me for a few minutes at the beginning of the run, and my back felt pretty good as well as there was less stiffness than yesterday.  I still need to monitor my foot a lot, as there is a fair amount of pain if I press on the lateral side near the 5th metatarsal.