This is how graceful I felt.

Just in time for the holiday weekend, the heat has arrived. Two weeks ago, I stood at Inspiration Point in the cool morning fog, shivering and debating whether to bring my jacket on my run. This week, I was sweating before we even set out on the trail.

Yesterday, I coated myself in a layer of sunscreen and headed out at Heather Farm Park with the rest of the team. I could tell from the first moments that this was going to be one of those runs. We were hot, sweaty and downright uncomfortable, and that was before we even took the first step. I realized later in the day that I felt like I’d been running in the less-than-breathable cocoon of a spacesuit. When I got back into my car, I checked the weather. Temperature: 72. “Real Feel Temp:” 86. No wonder I felt like an astronaut!

I’ve been struggling this year, even on the best of days. If you ask, I’ll tell you that my foot is “fine.” That’s “fine” not in the “everything’s perfect” sense, but more of the “I’m plodding along in spite of it” sense. And some days, all I can do is plod. My foot aches. It’s a manageable sort of feeling when I’m walking, but the longer I run, the more I can feel myself compensating for the weird aches by favoring that foot.

I’ve started to take walking breaks to reset my form and try to prevent any long-term damage to other parts of my body that might be caused by running the wrong way. I know that the Galloway method is a perfectly reasonable way to run a half marathon, and I’ve been re-reading the book that my friend lent me last year, prior to my injury.

But….

But.

But it’s disappointing. Last year on July 4, I set my personal record for a 5K at the local holiday run. 30:00 even, 9:41/mile, and I was proud to be able to run every step of the way. That was phenomenal, and way ahead of where I thought that I’d be, and I was delighted. I finished in the top 25% for my age group and I had secret aspirations of one day finishing in the top three for my division.

This year, I’ll be overjoyed if I can keep my pace under 10:30/mile, and it will probably be closer to 11:00/mile. I know that I shouldn’t compare then and now, but it’s hard not to.

In other news, I continue to fundraise and I continue to need your support. Please help me meet my fundraising goals and help cancer patients and their families as they battle this terrible disease.

Tags: 5k, fundraising, galloway, heat, injury, leukemia, lymphoma, racing, rehab, running, team in training, tnt, training, walking

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