Ravenswood Trail Race 4.1 miles

I called Todd earlier in the week and made sure that he was going to the Ravenswood Trail Race. He was game. Krissy, Roberta, Todd Callaghan and I arrived an hour before the start in Gloucester, just a 20 minute drive up Rt. 127 from our Beverly domain. Todd was anxious to see the course so we hit the trails as soon as we picked up our bib numbers. I ran the course in 2007 and knew the course so navigating along was easy. I had enough time to change into the New Balance 790's and my CMS singlet five minutes before the race went off. Todd jumped right to the front and I followed. After we crossed the first board walk across the Magnolia swamp, it was clear that he was on his "A" game for trail legs. Meanwhile, I felt some rust while he pulled away. I chicken stepped a few spots and lost ground and sight of him after the first mile. I had some foot steps come upon me after mile two. It was not until after the race that I found out that it was SRR and Tuesday night training partner, Sean McDonough. He has been ripping up the trail series this summer on the North Shore. I never let him get by and the presence woke me up so I surged a few times when footing was appropriate. I was dogging it after mile three, completely wasted on any hills to climb which are frequent but not too long. With 800m to go, I was alerted to some sudden heel pain in my good foot (the other has been a mess with plantar fascia related aches for months) with every foot plant. I thought it was a stress fracture as I finished the race.

Todd crushed the course in 26:50 for the win. I was second in 28:00. Sean closed the gap a bit, just thirteen seconds back. My heel was killing me but the stubborn runner in me tried to ignore it through a cool down with the top five finishers of the race. Gloucester resident, Matt Curran (GLRR) and Dan Verrington (CMS) kept the conversation light while we covered over 80% of the course again. I was delighted to come back to the awards and raffle with some cookies and fudge still left for my appetite. Race director, Jennifer Brooks gave away all sorts of fun prizes such a Christmas Ornaments to a eight pack of YooHoo. Todd picked up some cash for the well deserved win. I got a gift certificate for New England Running Company which I hope to apply toward some new trail shoes in the future.

As the day wore on, I could not put any pressure on my heel. I went the doctor on Monday night and got an x-ray on Tuesday night. I got the call today that I have a "large bone spur" and got referred to a Podiatrist with whom I will visit on Friday. So, it appears that I will be on the shelf for a bit as I consult with Dr. Tobin to determine what I need to do in order to break up the spur in my heel. For all I know, I probably have one in the foot that has been thought to have "plantar" issues over the past few months. I will have to take it one day at a time. I would appreciate hearing from anyone who has dealt with bone spurs.

Timex IronMan Splits minus mile four: 6:16, 7:15, 7:03, 7:24 for the last 1.1 miles

2011 Ravenswood Trail Race Results
October 16, 2011 Gloucester, MA
1 26:50 Todd Callaghan      4049M Beverly MA
2 28:00 James Pawlicki       3039M Beverly MA
3 28:12 Sean McDonough   2029M Somerville MA
4 28:45 Dan Verrington       4049M Bradford MA
5 28:50 Matthew Curran     5059M Gloucester MA