As the golf season has been ending I have been trying to get going on a few other athletic fronts. I finished a half marathon this spring in Fargo with a very very injured Achilles tendon. This left a terrible taste in my mouth given that I like to do things well when I set my mind to them. Hence me being stubborn I decided to try and run a 10 mile race in October called the Monster Dash. The first 3 weeks of training went really well and then sure as heck my bad ankles started kicking in again. This time with the encouragement of my wife I went to the doctor and found out what the heck was going on. My orthopedic doctor said that I needed to support my ankles better and go easy for a few weeks before the training could begin again. I finally listed to the advice of experts and just rested. It sure paid off. 3 weeks before the race I started training again. Hockey tape all over my feet but it was feeling good and my lungs were feeling good. This race meant a lot to me because I knew if I pulled up lame that it would likely be my last. I invited my parents to come watch my wife and I run just for that extra little motivation to keep me going. They had never been to a race so they were really excited to see how we did. The race started and it was off and running. I wished my wife good luck and I took off. The morning was cold but I had the right gear on and everything just seemed to be clicking. I did the first 2-3 miles at a slightly slower pace then I normally start a race in hopes that the blood would start flowing and prevent me from getting injured. Then I saw the 8min mile pace guy and I felt a sudden rush that things were going well I blew by him and never looked back. I kept telling myself the following, I don't wanna see that guy again today! I made it all the way to about mile 8.5 and then I started to get really tired and was starting to worry my pace was slowing down. Then out of nowhere a guy yells at me from behind. Hey lets go Fargo I have been chasing you this whole way we are stopping now. It was just what I needed and I made sure he knew it at the end of the race. I set a PR for myself. 1hr16mins. (thats a 7:38 pace) My goal was 8min miles by the way. My wife set a PR that day as well. It was an awesome morning. Now that I completed that race and know how to tape myself up appropriately I am going to run a 5k for work to try and raise money for the food shelf. Goal is 7min miles flat and try to finish in the top 5. No holding back this time so lets see what happens.
Next up: The transition to hockey season and weight training. Its going to be a busy winter.
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