I've Been Resting - Bought a Foam Roller for Hip Pain

After my run in Casy Park the other day I realized that my hip has really been sore.  I believe it is a case of bursitis.  Because of that I've decided to take a few days off from running to get some rest and heal up.  Tonight I will join the Remington's Run for the five mile loop.  For those of you that don't know, the second Thursday of every month Remington's Bar (on Merchants Road) and Fleet Feet put on a nice little event.  You meet there at 6:00 and run either 2, 3 or 5 miles and return to the bar where they have free food and drink specials.  It's a pretty good time.  You should try it.

For the last three days I haven't run but I've been walking a few miles here and there. In addition I bought a Foam Roller and I've been using it twice a day. I have to say that I am pleasantly surprised with the results. I've heard a lot of people talk about their rollers and how great they are but I was very skeptical. I'm not anymore. The first time I used it my hip pain was gone after about ten minutes. I could walk, squat and climb stairs without pain. Of course the pain came back a short while later, but it was less intense. Between the foam roller and three days rest I feel really good. I an looking forward to tonight's run.

Running in Casey Park - Ontario, NY

I'm always looking out for new trails to run.  Anything to keep my running fresh.  Today I had the pleasure of running on the bike trail at Casey Park in Ontario, NY on Knickerbocker Road, just north of route 104.  The trail through Casey Park runs around a narrow, spring fed pond that looked like a nice spot for bass fishing.  I'll have to visit the pond again with my rod and reel.  The pond was created in the 1880s as a byproduct of mining efforts.  It is a very pretty little park.

The path starts off as nice, wide, inviting hard packed dirt.  It is smooth, and even and can be run very fast.  There are distance markers every 200 meters.  I could see myself doing speedwork here instead of the track.

After running the length of the pond the course turns and you come across a small bridge:

Then you come to some nice stairs going up:

Once you hit the top of the stairs you are on a single track the rest of the way.

Some of the single track was a little over grown, but I think that is because it doesn't get a lot of action.  It was also fairly difficult with rocks and roots making constant attempts to trip you up.  Next time I will wear my trail shoes.  The total trail was about 1.8 miles.  Making a complete loop around the pond was 2.05.

The trail as a hole was very runnable, with the first half being very fast.  I ran the loop four times before walking it again to take pictures.  I was impressed that I did not see a single piece of trash.  There was abundant small wildlife.  I saw several rabbits and squirrels and smelled a skunk at one point.  I'm sure there are also a lot of deer in the area.

I was also very impressed with the quality of the pictures on my Garmin Asus GarminFone.  They are certainly better than expected.

Phelps Sauerkraut 20k Road Race

Today I ran the Phelps Sauerkraut 20k Road Race with a friend.  I didn't enter to race it, just to run it for fun and get a decent mid-length run in.  My friend has run it several times and was able to set a course PR by three minutes.

There is not much to say about the race.  Nothing overly exciting happened.  Our splits were consistent, the second ten kilometers were run 16 seconds faster than the first.  We maintained a nice, consistent pace throughout.  I briefly thought about running the course again to make it my long run but decided to get in line for hot dogs and sauerkraut instead.

One of the things that amused me is the different mindset of road runners and trail runners.  To be honest, I was a little nervous about the course because I kept hearing how difficult it was, with lots of hills, blah, blah, blah.  After all the time I've been spending on the trails lately the road course seemed nice and smooth and easy.  There were two decent sized uphills, but both were certainly runnable.  Even after the race people were talking about the "killer" hills.  I must have run a different course.

Also, there seemed to be water stops every mile.  I carried my 20 oz. Handheld Water Bottle.  At the 10 mile mark I grabbed 2 cups of water and added it to the bottle, just to make it a little cooler.  I guess having too many stops is better than not enough. 

I do have to say that the volunteers at the event were outstanding.  Lots of smiles and positive comments.  I tried to thank everyone along the course.  Events can not be a success without a great group of volunteers.