Foot Injury

Well so much for that marathon training....ha.

I thought I had a pretty conservative build up in my running which included a lot of double runs, rest days and easy running. Volume looked like this the past 9 weeks:

17 miles
18 miles
17 miles
29 miles
sick (2 weeks)
32 miles
39 miles
32 (was going to be 40)

The plan proved wrong as last Saturday, 2 miles into my long run I felt a bite on my left foot, except it wasn't a bug bite. I ended up walking all the way home and about 1/2 mile away from the house I had to have Amy come get me as the pain was over the top.

I thought I may have broken it but after four days of being off of it I don't think it's broken. I actually had a similar injury on the same foot years ago and was looking for that blog. I remember going to the doc and finding out it was actually a soleus injury related. Everything is connected and I think that's the source of the injury as I was just dealing with soleus issues about 6 weeks ago. So I'm just going to take this week off completely from running and swim/ride - which now confuses me even more...

As I mentioned last week, "the plan" was to just run in 2017 to free up as much time as possible for the family while still satisfying my competitive and fitness obsession. My new problem now is that after getting back in the water and on my bike, I forgot how much I enjoy the variety and disciplines. I'm seriously like an 18 year old kid that doesn't know what he wants in life haha. It's also a flashback to 2008 when I decided to get in shape again and train for a marathon, only to deal with injuries for 2 years and finally move over to triathlon. I might be rewinding the same story again.

So we'll see...Whether it's running or triathlon, I'm coming back to race in 2017 and really looking forward to it!

Our baby Juliet is doing really well and so is Amy. Amy, btw - pushed her out in 3 contractions like a #boss and was walking hours later. She's also excited to get back in running shape and start racing again so lots of fun/exciting Adams fitness goals in the house again - can't wait!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Kiddos seeing Santa

Stud

Little break from a 4 mile ride with the older ones!

Matching xmas socks

Our new angel, Juliet

Support

My full crew

Wow, what an overwhelming response Amy and I received from our family and friends after last week's post. As hard as it was the first few days, we are completely at peace about Juliet's diagnosis. We cannot wait to raise her with love and even more with the right tools for her to have a great life. DS has had some breakthroughs and Glen Doman has had a lot to do with it. We are quickly becoming a student and will provide our baby girl with the best environment to succeed.

I think she is already on the same page. About 50% of DS babies have heart conditions at birth, she doesn't. Almost all have trouble eating, she doesn't. Most DS newborns feel limp and lack strength, she's already lifting her head up and is strong. I can already tell she is a fighter and having her around the past two weeks has already changed Amy and I for the better. So much LOVE!

The support has also been amazing. Our church and mom's club have been so good to us, providing us with meals the past 2 weeks, offering to take the older kids and so much words of encouragement and love poured out. That's what a community is all about and a big reason why we moved back to Temecula; which by the way, has so many special needs programs - we are truly blessed.

Switching gears now -besides our baby girl, I also changed jobs about 3 months ago which has allowed me to work from home. This has improved my quality of life tenfold. The 2-3 hours of commuting everyday really had an affect on me both personally and athletically. I've basically been very inconsistent and gained a good 10-15 pounds over the past 2 years of no racing. Motivation would come and go and the job/driving demands played a big part of that.

Now that I'm working from home, I've been able to get back to my love of endurance sports. I've lost 7 pounds and am up to running 40 miles/week. Through all of the running - I've also discovered the love that I had for it in my hs/college/post college days. With 4 kids now, I've also noticed how much of a time saver it is to run as opposed to adding swimming and cycling to the mix.

So for 2017 I will focus solely on running. I may jump into a few triathlons but my main focus will be the marathon. I've never run an open marathon (in shape). Qualifying for Boston is definitely a bucket list but I also have some lofty goals with running that I will share as fitness progresses.

Right now it's all about a lot of short double runs to increase mileage safely minimizing injury and I could still lose another 10 pounds to get in marathon "race weight." So when you see me in about 6 months, I am not doing drugs -rather, a running addiction!

I added a Strava widget to the blog, feel free to follow along my fitness progression! Next week I'll share my race schedule. As always, thanks for reading :)

A Gift

Juliet Faith

Amy and I were blessed with our 4th child, Juliet. She was born with Down Syndrome on Thanksgiving day. Her middle name is Faith. I don't normally get personal or religious in the social media world but I have no doubt that the name we had picked out long ago and the fact that she was born on Thanksgiving day was a gift from God. To be thankful and faithful that she will be healthy and have an amazing impact on others.

Amazing she is. She has brought many people to tears - even without them knowing of her diagnosis. Amy and I found out the next day by a very special pediatrician (whom we'll never forget) and we were brought to tears. Tears of the unknown. 1 out of 700 in the US are born with Down Syndrome - we are quickly finding out that we were one of the lucky ones.

Within one week, I have made drastic changes in my life. I have this new relentless desire to be a better person. Better at everything. I imagine she will do the same to everyone she meets.