The 9-miler that wasn't

The past week I have been pretty out of commission due to a heel injury.  It started to hurt before my race last weekend but I thought nothing of it and pushed through it and felt fine.  Well Monday I woke up to run before work and as soon as I stepped out of bed a burning pain shot up my leg from my heel.  I could barely walk, let alone run.  Everyone I talked to said to rest it, and so I thought a day or two would be ample.  Not so much.  I wasn't able to run until yesterday, which means that I rested my darn heel for 5 days.  Five days without running made me so anxious to get out there and run, especially with Surf City only three weeks away!

Yesterday I had my first 9-miler on my Surf City training plan.  I don't know why I thought I could tackle it after 5 days without running (let alone my longest distance is a 10K), but for some wild reason I thought I could.  I knew there was a big storm coming in that afternoon so I laced up and headed for the beach.  It was 60 degrees and if I looked to the left it was blue skies with the sun shining, and if I looked to the right the dark ominous clouds had begun rolling in.

Left:

Right:

I stared out running along the beach, then I ran towards a wooden beach path by the homes where one of my friends live.  It runs along the beach-front side of the homes and I like it because it's more cushiony than the pavement path.  I didn't have my iPod with me, so I was listening to the seagulls gawk before the storm, moms and kids riding their bikes along the path and playing in the sand, the sound of the waves rush in then out, and the sounds of other runners' feet hitting the path.  It was the calm before the storm as one might say, very serene.

Here is the wooden path that I ran on:

So back to the 9-miler...I don't know how I thought I could tackle 9, because after 2.5 my heel started the burn and I was just plain tired.  I ran into an ultra-marathoner and we ran and chatted for about ten minutes.  He is also a pacer for LA and Long Beach marathons with the Road Runners.  He was a very cool guy and I enjoyed the company for the little bit.  Sometimes it's nice to have a running partner...anyone know where I can find a running partner!?  :)

So after running with Mr. Ultra for a little while, I ran from the beach to the canals where my Aunt lives, and now the clouds were really rolling in and it was getting windy.

After a bit, I felt I couldn't go on anymore.  My heel was burning and throbbing, and my body felt tired.  I looked down at my Garmin, and it read 3.5 miles.  Blah.  40% of my intended 9miles.  C'est la vie!  I cooled down and stretched, and I met two little chatter boxes:

These little guys were very cool!  They were just chillin outside their house while their person was BBQing, and they were talking like pirates!  Cliché, yes.  Entertaining nonetheless, absolutely!

Once I finished the storm rolled in and it got very dark.  I had some errands to run then picked up my Grammie to bring her over for dinner.  We all watched the Golden Globes while the rain poured.  A perfect relaxing evening.

I don't work today because of the MLK holiday, and despite my training plan saying today is a 'rest' day, I am going to run to the gym (it's raining but not too hard; it's quite windy though) and get some strength training in.  I need to push these next three weeks, especially after losing a week of my training.  Oh, but if anyone lives in the Long Beach area and wants a running partner, let me know!!!  :)

Enjoy the rain <3