My wife called me a wimp. I almost said something.

A full report:

We left home about 3:45 a.m. with a thick fog that made the 40 miles worth of curves on Territorial Hwy a most unpleasant drive. Once we were out on I-5 southbound the road was straighter but just as foggy.
Stopped at Denny's in Roseburg for b'fast and arrived at Reinhart Park in Grants Pass a little after 7 a.m. With a 5k, 10k, and half marathon this was still a small race with under 100 participants and the level of organization reflected that. The course route was entirely different from what they had on the website, there were no mile markers, and the "three aid stations" were at the turn-around for each of the distances. That meant the first was at 1.5 miles, the second at 3 miles, and the third at 6.5 miles. (Note the uneven distances between stops.) And "aid station" meant water.

Because of the lack of typical race organization I went up to a gal at the start who was wearing quality running gear that included a half-marathon running jacket from another event. "Have you done this course before?"
We talked for just a couple of minutes and I learned this year's route wouldn't be what I expected but only included one short hill. Then we were off.

My goal was a pace of 10:30 miles which would bring me in just under 2.5 hours. At about 7 miles this gal came up alongside me. She had friends running the 10k and ran with them until their turn-around and then decided to catch up to me. We ran the rest of the distance together, which turned out to be a wonderful turn of events.

Syrena is 34 and a labor & delivery nurse at the Grants Pass hospital where her husband is an ER doc. They have two young children and a cool looking rescue dog who were waiting at the turn-around to greet her and then at the finish line. She is a serious runner who decided to do this half when she woke up yesterday morning. She's doing a full marathon next weekend so this was a training run. She does ultra- events too, including a 100k (62 miles) every summer.

Without any mile markers on the course it was nice to have Syrena and her "Map My Run" app in her left ear so she could call out the miles and the pace for each. And that's when I knew I might be in trouble. Instead of my goal of 10:30 min. per, we were doing between 9:55's and 10:05's. But when you're running with someone who has a faster pace something in your body responds and you find a way to match it.

Plus, the conversation was fascinating. Topics included all things running, living simply, raising goats and chickens (they've just moved out of the city to one acre with chickens and eventually pygmy goats), and healthy eating. I really did enjoy her easy company and along with the brisk pace it helped the miles pass quickly.

We didn't actually introduce ourselves ("My name's _____) until 100 yards before the finish line. Shortly thereafter we introduced our families (her husband and kids and Pam) to each other and talked about how nice it was to run together. She said it was the most enjoyable training run she'd ever done and I said her help got me to a result I never would have imagined.
Finish time of 2:12 and an average pace of 10:04 per mile.

Pam and I left and went to Goodness Gracious Cafe in old town Grants Pass. It's owned by Phil and Carrie Stobbe, a couple I know from decades ago and our connections in Michigan. We had a GREAT meal - they feature artisan sandwiches that are Mmmmm - and spent an hour with Phil & Carrie catching up. That was fun.

Then the two and a half hour drive home. That wasn't fun.

So here's the problem. My last training run was an easy 8 mile loop last Monday. Afterward I had some nagging pain in the big toe area of my left foot that didn't really get better as the week progressed. I wrote it off as arthritis and something I should just run through. I could tell during my warm up before the race it was going to be a problem, but adrenalin and running with Syrena got me through. Afterward, however....

It may be arthritis, but it may also be a stress fracture. I should have replaced my running shoes a long time ago, and the inner and outer sides of the left shoe are tearing at the point where the shoe box bends. That means my foot doesn't have the support it should, support that holds it in place as I run.

Pam's gone to church. I'm home with Epsom Salts and ice per Josh's recommendation. If this doesn't improve soon I'm headed back to the podiatrist that took off my toe nail. He also does sports podiatry. I don't know what he'll do if an Xray does show a stress fracture, but if it requires a boot I want to start sooner, not later. Ouch!

Was it worth it? Of course! I accomplished a personal goal, had wonderful conversations, good food...
Would I do it again? Yeah, probably. If this is a stress fracture caused by worn shoes there's an easy and obvious (if not cheap) fix that will prevent a reoccurrence, so why not?