Catharine Valley 1/2 Marathon

Pre-race with some running friends!

        Sunday was the Catharine Valley 1/2 marathon.  I am not in great shape after coming off of plantar fasciitis.  My plan was to use this race as long run.  From this race I learned that I have a lot of work to do for November 4.  It started out fine.  The first four miles were great.  I was a little faster than my long run pace but I felt good.  My legs were a little heavy but nothing bad.  Shortly after the 4 mile mark I knew the next 9 miles were going to be tough!  It started with the hip flexor pain.  The weird thing was that it was my right hip and not my left.  I ran through it but by mile 7 I was ready to quit.  The pain/cramping was in both hips.  I had to stop and stretch several times.  I was feeling quite defeated and ready to stop.  I think if there was a way for me to walk off the course I would of.  I just focused on getting to the finish with the least amount of discomfort as possible.  I did it. I finished with my 3rd slowest 1/2 marathon. I was and still am feeling not so great about running.  It is so hard for me to look at where I once was and where I am now.  Injuries are so hard to come back from. I know I have to look at where I am now and start working forward again.  One thing I did learn was that as much as the Hoka One One helped me get through plantar fasciitis and still run it's time to go back to a shoe with less cushioning.  I think the softness of the trail and the cushioning of the shoe led to the hip pain.

With some Lady Warriors afterwards