Frustration With Running

I am feeling a bit frustrated about my running lately. First of all, last month I had my best two-mile time (12:46) and one-mile time (6:14) since 1974. It looked as if I was making progress beyond my wildest dreams. In the following weeks, though, I seemed a get more bogged down and tired when I would go for a run. Now, for the past week, my left foot (around where the toes are attached) has been aching, preventing me from running. I had been intending to run in a local 3-mile road race on July 4, but I’ve scratched that idea, hoping that I’ll be ready to run competitively by October. I miss the routine and exhilaration of intense running. But I also miss the old long-distance, slower running I used to enjoy many, many years ago. Although treadmill training is very convenient in many ways, the long run “out-in-the-country” really defines the essence of this activity for me. But I have to figure out how to run while protecting my feet better! Until I’m ready to resume running, I guess I’ll be going back to training on the cross-trainer machine at my YMCA. And doing hot, sweaty yard work.