Well, I've been putting off writing this post, because the real results of the Uwharrie Mountain Run this year took a long time to unfold. On the face of it, it was a very successful race. I shaved 2 minutes off of my time from last year, and came within one slot of finishing in the top ten overall*. (*Note, most of the hardcore runner do the 20 or 40 mile versions of the race.) I think I was in slightly better shape this year, but the bulk of the improvement was probably from running a better race and not burning myself out too early. It certainly helps to know how hard that first mile is and pace appropriately.
The day itself was gorgeous. A crew of us drove up from Charleston for the race, with one of us crazy enough to run the 40 miler, so the rest of us spent a day lounging about in the sun waiting for him to finish. I was feeling good.
As we were getting ready to go home, I noticed some soreness in my foot, along the outside edge of my arch. The trail is very rocky and uneven, so my first thought was that I must have brusied it. It was worse the next morning, as aches and pains usually are, so I took a few days off. It seemed to be healing up nicely, and about a week later I went for a long, slow run. Later that day the pain came back with a vengeance. After a few days of limping around I realized the damage must be more serious.
Fast forward another month and a half, and I'm finally working my way back up in mileage without any pain. I'm still not sure what the damage was, but it was certainly more than just a bruise. I'm mostly disappointed because my training for the Cooper River Bridge Run, which was one of my goals this year, was pretty much nonexistant. I'm still going to run it, but I don't think I'll be setting any PRs. Still, this run has been a great time two years in a row, and I wouldn't give it up. I just might be a little more careful on the downhills next year. At least I can start gearing up for a summer of triathlons!
