Chuckanut Foot Race

I fired the engine up today and tried running the Chuckanut Foot Race. This is a seven miler, from Marine Park in Fairhaven, Bellingham, along the Interurban Trail, to Larrabee Park. It is basically the first section of the Chuckanut course—flat and fast. The race is also one of the oldest in Washington—this was the 43rd running--and it is popular, with 820 runners today. It is a GBRC sponsored race, and I’ve ran it numerous times—it used to be an annual thing, but I've gotten away from it the last few years.

The weather today was humid, surprisingly so for the Northwest. Temperatures were probably around 70. It was a good day for the event.

I didn’t run so hot. My back injury, which I should give a name at this point since we're so well acquainted, flared up pretty quickly, affecting my gait. It was kind of odd running, as my feet wanted to happy-quick turnover, but my hamstrings and butt would have no part in it. I sort of ran like Inspector Gadget, up down up down, rather than forward. The humidity or lack of running also affected my breathing a bit too--of course I'm worried I'm getting out of shape, but I don't think that's too much the case. I hurt worse once I stopped and sat down, and my back stiffened up—a little frustrating. The same thing happened earlier this week when I did a Fragrance Lake-swim-$2 Bill run after work.

I probably finished about halfway in the pack or a little further back. If I really tried, I could've tolerated the pain enough to do better, but not so much better that the effort would've been worth it to me. This was more about kicking the tires. There is some improvement, but longer runs are questionable for now.
 
The good news is I got out there today, saw a bunch of friends, took some pictures—link to album here--and got some good exercise in. I’ll get better, and I’m determined to make the most of things, whatever the situation. At this point I think getting better will take time, a lot of stretching, and some effort to gently keep pushing myself into the soup. Hiking or easy run/walking takes main stage in the coming weekends.

Afterwards, I bought a 24 Volt Black and Decker Hedge Trimmer, with EXTRA power. There are some plants around my place that have no idea what’s coming.