She Runs by the Seashore

January was a somewhat successful month of running. I was able to start the year off with a 100-plus mile month, but I also finally decided to get treatment for an issue that had been bothering me.

1. I ran 115.1 miles. I would have liked to have run more as I was training for the Algonquin 50K, but I got in 115.1 miles in January. This was more than I ran last year in January, as I took two weeks off after being hit by a car.
2. I ran my fast 1600 in 8:28. I’m continuing my goal of running a 1600 for speed at the beginning of each month, and I started the year off with a time of 8:28, faster than all but three of my times from 2021.
3. I did one race. This was the difficult PHUNT 25K. I struggled in this hilly race and the bottoms of my feet felt so awful that this led me to seek help for what I believed to be plantar fasciitis.
4. I did get help for plantar fasciitis. My feet hurt so bad during and after the PHUNT 25K that I decided to go to a specialist to get help. Thankfully, I did not have any fractures in my feet, but the doctor did think I had plantar fasciitis. One thing that he said that I had not thought of was to wear shoes (specifically OOFOS) around the house rather than going barefoot. I did not realize that going barefoot at home was possibly hurting my feet! I’m hoping that with some rest and making some changes in my outside-of-running footwear that I’ll be able to get rid of this problem.
5. I did some fun word runs. My friend Kendra has created some fun courses, and in January, a group of runners ran two courses she created that spelled out “Happy New Year?” and “Betty RIP” with a dog, for Betty White. These were both a lot of fun!
6. I did a 20.22-miler. As one of our training runs for the Algonquin 50K, Carla, Elizabeth, Kendra and I ran 20.22 miles on trails and roads.
7. I did some snow runs. One of these was a 10-miler in the snow at Algonquin with Carla, Elizabeth and Diana (they ran further). I also ran in the snow at the Salisbury City Park and around my house. There were actually three separate snow events that I ran in during January!
8. I did some other exercise. Once I rest from Algonquin (that post will come next), I know I’d like to do more strength training. I did get in two morning yoga classes and did a YouTube Pilates class at home in January. I’ve also done some burpees on occasion; I’d like to make those part of my regular routine.