Earlier this year, I logged my first DNF; next week, I’ll log my first DNS.

Next Saturday is the race I’ve been training for – Chamna Chase HM. It’s on primarily on trails, and it’s flat. Last February, I put my name in as a candidate for delegate to the diocesan convention. I wasn’t elected, and I was the second-runner up. The made me the second alternate. I figured I was safe from being asked to serve, and I signed up for Chamna Chase. Alas, earlier this week I was asked to take the place of another delegate who is recovering from surgery. I agreed. And with some reflection, I’ve decided this is a good thing.I’m still recovering from 12 Hours of Badger. My grossly-offended right little toe has been sore all week. I had a hard time convincing myself to go out to do Tuesday’s workout – a 2-mile time trial – so I told myself to see how I felt during the mile warm-up. I knew within a minute or two that I wouldn’t be running during that workout, and I decided to walk for three miles instead. Yesterday’s workout was supposed to be four miles with twenty minutes at tempo (I set my Garmin at 8:00-11:00/mile for the “tempo” period); I skipped that altogether as my body felt tired and weary.

I’ve decided that I will run a half-marathon on my own on Saturday, October 28th. My run will largely mimic the course for the Chamna Chase, but I’m going to leave out the section that goes on the I-182 bridge over the Yakima River — that section is concrete, and I won’t run on concrete. I’ve made this week a rest & recovery week, and moved this week’s run workouts to next week, and next week’s to the following week.

I should be in pretty good shape come the 28th. My legs are still a little sore from 12 Hours of Badger, but they’re feeling much better. The toe is less painful, too: it’s not currently swaddled in bandages and I didn’t wince when I put a shoe on this morning.

I’m debating what to do about this weekend’s long run. It’s scheduled to be a 6-mile run, but two weeks before the HM I’m supposed to do an 11-mile run. That was on the schedule for last weekend when I walked the marathon. My legs certainly got practice working while tired last Saturday, but that was walking, not running. We may be heading out of town; if that’s the case, I won’t have time to do an 11-mile run. I will do a 6-mile run early Saturday, and then hope I have time to do another run Sunday when we get home. If we’re staying home, I’ll head out with the intent to do an 11-mile run and just play it by ear. Another sufferfest would be a good idea, training-wise, but there’s no telling if I can accomplish such a thing.

Once the HM is over, I need to take a break from running. My knee is starting to hurt again. I have a follow-up appointment with the orthopedist in December or January, and it’d be nice to have a couple of months of strengthening the knee capsule under my belt before that appointment. I may continue to run once a week or so, just to keep my body accustomed to it, but I’m going to focus on cycling & swimming. This already looks like a constantly-full workout calendar, and I question my dedication to a training plan if I’m not training for a race.

My weight is under 170 again, and more importantly, both my weight & my body-fat percentage declined from yesterday. (It’s much more common that if one goes down, the other increases.) I’m making progress despite a series of questionable food choices over the past few weeks. While scale weight is not the most important thing in my overall health & fitness, I believe my knees will be healthier & happier if I’m 145 pounds. That keeps me motivated, even without a race on the calendar – I just hope it’s enough!