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December 29, 2005
Home, Again
There is a certain, almost indescribable joy that I feel in returning home after a long journey. It's so great to travel and to have an adventure. It's also nice to curl up on one's own couch, drink tea out of one's own coffee mug, and to lay under one's own blanket. I'm happy to be home!
I did a dumb thing. Well, 2 dumb things! I thought it would be "fun" to drive from Yellowstone National Park, WY to Minneapolis, MN in one day. That's 1020 miles in a singular day, for the mathematically inclined. That's 4 states, for the geographically inquisitive. That's stupid, for the folks who have common sense. Oh, and I did it all again a week later when we had to come home. Kids, don't try this one at home!
My foot seems to be better! Thanks for everyone's well wishes and suggestions for what was wrong with me. I don't know exactly what happened, but the pain seems to be gone, replaced at the moment by just stiffness. I'm able to run on it as it continues to improve, so I'm very happy about that! I'm beginning to think that my Yaktrax are the source of the pain. My Yaktrax seem to pull my toes into a slightly unnatural flexed position. Additionally, the orthotic insert for the foot that got sore has more correction in it, lifting my heel up. So, I'm going to stay away from the Yaktrax right now and hope that it doesn't snow! I'm a little dissappointed if this is, indeed, the cause of the foot pain, because the Yaktrax were doing a great job of giving me traction in ice and snow.
Here's a quasi brief recap of the last week or so, both my running and non-running adventures:
Thursday, December 22: No running. Rest foot one more day. Drive 16.5 hours across Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, and Minnesota.
Friday, December 23: Run about 4.5 miles in glorious weather. It was a beautiful day in Minnesota, I wore shorts! I taped my foot and it merely felt kind of stiff. I ran a loop that I used to run as a kid, and smoked the course by all accounts. I credit this to the fact that I hadn't run in days and that I had just descended from 6300 feet to 800 feet in one day. We spent the day just hanging out at my parents' house, enjoying being on vacation.
Saturday, December 24: Ran 3.5 pain-free miles around my parents' neighborhood at 9 pm in light sleet and snow. My foot felt stiff, but it didn't hurt. The day was busy with touring around Minneapolis, seeing some sights. I ran on a full stomach from dinner, which was moderately uncomfortable. Running on a semi-measured loop showed me that I was running well below 7:00 pace. I love that elevation loss!
Sunday, December 25: No running, by choice. Figured I'd blown the week resting my foot, what's one more day? Instead I immersed myself in spending time with family and friends. Slept in late, had brunch, opened gifts, went to a movie (The Producers, crazy movie!), and fixed and ate Christmas dinner.
Monday, December 26: Ran at least 5.5 miles. I don't know the distance, but the time was 40 minutes and pocket change. I knew I was cruising along, though, at a good pace with little effort. Visited the infamous Mall of America, a true sight to behold in the Twin Cities. Walked several miles around the mall and did a bit of shopping (mostly just ogled at the huge scale of everthing). My feet were tired from all the walking!
Tuesday, December 27: Ran perhaps 4.5 miles on another loop I used to run when I was younger. I remember when this 4.5 miles seemed like a lot. It was fun and I flew along again easily. Today was a really busy day! We visited the Minnesota Science Museum to explore the exhibits and see the IMax movie. Then we hung out in downtown St. Paul, being tourists. Then went out to dinner in Minneapolis. Then went to a concert by the famed Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Am I an idiot that I've never heard of them before? While they aren't my typical music preference, they put on a helluva show! Afterwards we stayed out too late at a most fun bar in Minneapolis called "The Local." It was an Irish pub with a great atmosphere and cool people around.
Wednesday, December 28: Ran 40 minutes on another old running loop from kidhood. I don't know the distance, but I'm again logging it as 5.5 miles. We spent the evening hanging out with 2 friends I went to high school with. I still keep in touch with these girls after all these years, and it was fun to see them!
Thursday, December 29: No running, planned day off. I woke up really early to make the long trip back to Yellowstone. It was a hard trip, not only for the distance but for the bad roads. There was a winter storm in North Dakota today that really slowed me down! So glad to be back home now, though!
That's it for now!
Posted by Meghan at December 29, 2005 11:22 PM
Comments
welcome home and glad you had such a good time with your family and friends. yay for the healthy foot.
oh, and, well below a 7:00 pace? awesome, meghan!
Posted by: jeff at December 30, 2005 11:41 AM
The Yaktrax do seem like a likely culprit. I didn't even think of that, but I have noticed it with my own - that they can totally change the fit of the shoe. Those things aren't cheap, but I wonder if moving up a size might help... But then there's the fact that you're still landing on an unnatural "surface" each time.
I, too, am impressed with the sub-7:00 pace!!
And I don't know anyone who lives life more fully than you do. Wow!
Posted by: Alison at December 30, 2005 2:25 PM