Motivation

The best motivation of all…. Having a great long run after coming off an injury.  In my cause, a pseudo-injury in the form of intense pain in the big toe due to solidification of uric acid into needle-like shards that tear at the flesh causing inflammation. 

That’s right kiddos, I had a nice 10 mile run this morning.  I’m not going to call it out of the woods yet.  Tomorrow I could wake up with another flair-up.  I have a feeling that it’s going to be ok though (fingers crossed, knocking on wood, kissing the dirt, throwing salt over my shoulder, and whatever other superstitious nonsense you do to keep from being jinxed!).

The run was nice.  I did 5:00/1:30s and finished strong with an 11 min per mile pace, about 10 seconds slower per mile than my 16 miles a few weeks ago, but I wasn’t pushing it anyway.  This was my test at doing a long run to see if it will re-induce another gout episode. The weather was nice and sunny, but a pleasantly mild 75F, or so.  A great day for a run.

I’ve been back on the meds, and they’ve been melting away the deposit of uric acid that snuck back in on me.  Lesson learned….new diet isn’t enough to keep it under control alone. 

On the flip side, I tried my hand at making some energy bars.  I went with a coconut, agave nectar, cashew, and flaxeed mix. It stayed in the oven too long, and the edging was burnt, but overall it came off ok.  I only made enough for today's run, so I’ll be making more soon.  I’m interested in trying my hand (or should I say spoon) at homemade energy gels and chia seed drinks as well.  I foresee some culinary experimentation this week! 

I was feeling pretty down about my feet, but today’s run has me energized to hit some trail work, provided I clear 48 hours without inflammation.

 

Wish me luck!