This past fall held lots of promise, I was running my fastest times ever while gearing up for my A races of the season, Cow Harbor 10K, the Montauk Olympic Distance Triathlon and Devils Chase 6.66 mile run in Salem. Then during a track workout in late summer I was having some abnormal heel pain that caused me to cut the workout short. I still ran home but at a much slower pace than normal.
The rest of that day the pain continued when standing or walking. I was a little worried but not much. I should have been more concerned. I had been training pretty hard and not taking adequate rests. My training plan consisted of a 10KM running plan I found online, adding in biking and swimming on top of that (not really swapping out workouts, just adding) and also weight training. Also, all summer I was running races on the planned recovery days (the Monday night summer run series).
After some internet medical research I determined I had Plantar fasciitis, an inflammation of the tissue that runs across the bottom of the foot from the heel bone to the toes. After taking a week completely off from training and trying to run again only to find the same pain I modified my training plan and changed my runs to the elliptical and called the physical therapist. I was determined to get through my race season as best I could, deciding to rely on the elliptical, biking, swimming, PT and my current elevated fitness to carry me through the next 2 months that had my 3 top priority races.
Cow Harbor 10K
I decided to treat this race as a test for the Montauk Man Triathlon the following weekend, to go out and run by feel not too worried about time, so I could gauge my effort/level of hurt/expectations for the race I cared more about, the triathlon.
The first two miles went really well, the heel pain started off mild and actually went away by mile 2, and my pace was fast. I felt pretty good until the heel pain returned to mild around mile 4, and slowly got worse until the end of the race. I still managed to run the fastest time I’ve ever run at Cow Harbor – a hilly 10K course. And my second fastest 10K ever, which surprised me and also frustrated me. If I could run that fast with the heel pain and my training interrupted how well could I have done without that. The rest of the day and next couple days the heel pain was worse than ever.
Montauk Mighty Man Olympic Distance Triathlon
After Cow Harbor I felt pretty good I could run a decent 10K at the end of this triathlon, not as fast as I wanted to or thought I was capable of, but still a decent time. And I could use this race to get back into triathlons since it has been about 10 years since my last triathlon, a nice re-introduction to racing with less pressure because I was already compromised.
The swim was cancelled which really bummed me out, I was hoping to get an idea of my swim fitness in the open water. The race was now going to start with the bike, with groups of 2 athletes starting every 10 seconds or so by race number. Because of my race number I started about 7 or 8 minutes after the first athletes went off, and spent the first 2/3 of the bike passing people. That was a nice little ego boost, if frustrating when looping around Montauk lighthouse parking lot because I was stuck behind people. The last third of the bike I didn’t really see anyone in front of me and got a little bored.
I went through transition to the run in a slow and easy pace, taking my time and still messed up the lap function on my watch so I wasn’t quite sure what my split was while running. I was catching up to and passing people again, even though my heel pain was there from start to finish, not really getting worse or better. I ended up running a 40:02 and coming in 4th place overall, which was pretty amazing, even though I think if I had my split on my watch I probably could have broken 40.
Devils Chase
I took the next 3 weeks off from running completely (just swam, biked and elliptical). Then I had my final planned race of the year – a 6.66 mile run up in Salem, MA. The atmosphere was amazing, I love Salem around Halloween, the vibe of the whole city was great. Not having run for 3 weeks I wasn’t sure how I would do, but my heel was still hurting when walking around and stuff.
After the start of the race I settled into the front, actually taking the lead about 1/2 mile in with what I thought was a sustainable 6:15 pace. I wasn’t quite sure of the race course and had never been in the front of a race like this, there was a lead bike but they stopped about 1.5 miles in. It was an odd feeling to try and make sure I was on course and getting the right turns in. This race also had a 3.33 mile race that started before the 6.66 and shared part of the course, so I was passing a bunch of those runners and hoping our courses were the same.
About 3 miles in a new cyclist came around to lead me and my heel was steadily getting worse. By mile 4 it was the worst its been during a race, and I slowed considerably and was passed. I tried to keep up the pace but slowed down more and was passed by 2 more people in the final 2 miles. I ended up coming in 4th overall, which was nice. I also spent the rest of the day with a really bad limp and had trouble walking for the next few days which was not nice.
| Race | Date | Distance | Time | Avg Pace | Mile Splits | HR (avg/max) | Place | AG Place |
| Cow Harbor | 2023-09-23 | 10K | 38:28 | 6:11 | 5:48 6:19 6:13 5:54 6:24 6:06 | 182 / 202 | 122/3565 | 7/260 |
| Montauk Mighty Man Triathlon | 2023-10-01 | 40K Bike 10K run | overall: 1:49:33 bike: 67:44 T2: 1:47 run: 40:02 | bike: 22 mph run: 6:27 /mile | 7:26* 6:11 6:48 6:42 6:02 6:21 | 167 / 193 | 4/256 | 1/11 |
| Devils Chase | 2023-10-21 | 6.66 miles | 42:48 | 6:25 | 6:14 6:11 6:18 6:40 6:39 6:58 | 191 / 203 | 4/486 | 2/73 |
After the Devils Chase race I took a few weeks completely off. Then returned to biking and swimming, did a 30 day yoga challenge. My heel was not getting better until I added specialized exercises, and it is still slow going. I haven’t returned to running but think I will in the next couple weeks. Very slowly.
The Year Ahead
This coming year I have 2 concrete plans for races so far – the NYC Marathon in November which I already qualified for and USA Triathlon Nationals in September which I also already qualified for. I’d like to do the summer run series again without getting injured. And I’d like to do the MightyMan Montauk olympic distance triathlon again, maybe the Jones Beach half ironman but those races also both fall in September/early October which is getting crowded. Not to mention the Devils Chase in Salem, which is late October. All the races I have plans for are later in the year, giving me plenty of time to get back into running shape.