Pre-race thoughts

Tomorrow is the Healthy Kidney 10K.  It is going to be a logistical nightmare.  A morning race, soccer practice, lunch with college friends, lacrosse game, some work, then a cocktail party and a benefit dinner.  All balanced around a two year old with a nap thrown in there.  A delicate dance for sure, and I only hope it doesn't rain.  It is finally spring and nice out, and we are so close to summer.


Last week as I dropped my daughter off for lacrosse practice at our school, I saw the high school girls track team running 400s with the coach. They looked so strong and dedicated and I was very, very impressed.  Here they are running, training with an interval workout on a Saturday. Of course, for a school with 100 kids in a graduating class, the track team (and the girls track team in particular) is phenomenal.  Now I know why.  I once saw a high school football saying "Discipline. Dedication. Defense."  (I am going to write about it soon.) And that exemplified dedication to me.

For the race, I have no idea what pace to aim for.  Given the 7:02 pace 10K I ran in December (and 7:21 pace 15K from six weeks ago), but then accounting for the recent 5 week layoff and injury, I have no idea what my time goal is.  Earlier today I thought I would just aim for 7:45 miles and be happy.  And then I thought, no, I ran this race last year; I will compare myself to that.  I looked up my race report for that race, and found out I ran 7:33 miles.  Hmmmm.  That makes a 7:45/mile time goal look sort of wimpy.

I have now run three times this week -- all on a treadmill and all in my New Balance 905's.  I saw Outside Magazine's "Gear" Issue, and on the cover are my new New Balance Shoes.  Sweet, so I buy the magazine.  The write up for the 905s said it was made for "whippet thin" runners who are speedsters and don't need any padding. Of the many things I have been called in my life "whippet thin" is not one of them.  But, as a result of my injury induced shoe switch, I don't have any other shoes sufficiently broken in in which to run a road race.  I have ditched the Gel Kayanos for now, and have never run in my new Sauconys.    So, I will do my best whippet imitation tomorrow in my neon yellow shoes.

The workouts have gone smoothly for my feet.  I have a lingering issue involving my left big toe (the opposite foot of the maybe stress fracture), but that injury has been with me a long time.  It is discomfort and goes away as I run; I actually feel it more in the mornings than during a run. (Playing Google doctor, I suspect  the injury is an arthritic condition in the sesamoid bone and joints.  It doesn't really go away with rest, and the most painful position is in push up position or doing a plank. I have had it for years (as far back as first marathon training), and it just does not get better with rest or no running.  It is not debilitating and just "one of those things" we all deal with.)  Anyway, my right foot has been fine.  In particular, the top of my first metatarsal (the situs of the potential stress fracture) has felt no pain at all post run.  In other words, so far, so good.  Heart rates have been a little high, but nothing unexpected after a layoff.

So, all of this leads me to goal setting for tomorrow.  My final answer: 7:30 miles, a 60 age graded time and no foot pain.

UPDATE:  Yes, I tweaked my blog settings and layout.  Just got tired of looking at the old one and thought to celebrate Spring I would try something new.  I didn't put much thought into the new layout yet, just clicked some buttons and Presto -- a new look!  The Header picture (as poorly done as it is right now) is Billy Mills, whose story never ceases to inspire me.  This link is to a motivational speech he gave -- it is just great.

All journeys begin with a single step...

Ok, so after a month or so of semi forced layoff -- a stress fracture will do that to you -- I ran for the very first time last night. 5 miles on the treadmill, 8:30 miles.  Felt sooooo easy at first, but then harder at the end.  I was definitely winded at the end.

Since I had not run in a while, I naturally went out to buy some gear to get myself motivated.  One suggestion from doctor and others was that it wasn't a stress fracture at all; rather, the laces on my shoes were rubbing at an odd place.  I previously used the Gel Kayano 16's which have this offset lacing that goes across the bridge of the foot.  There is apparently a nerve that runs along that metatarsal and can become inflamed and irritated.  Ok, so I need new shoes.  And,  I managed to lose/misplace/intentionally forget to keep headphones in a safe spot.  Ok, I need new headphones.

First, the headphones.  We have a new winner: BEST RUNNING HEADPHONES.  The Sennheiser CX 680.  No contest, game is over.  Nothing is even in same league.  I previously reviewed headphones here (I actually omitted the reviews of the headphones I didn't like -- and there are a lot of them.).  I reluctantly concluded that the orange twist in ear Sennheiser were the best.  I even sent Sennheiser a lengthy email with my thoughts, concerns and suggestions.  I got a semi-coherent response that was frankly a little disappointing after all of the thought and energy that went into telling them what I thought of their products.  Imagine my shock, then, when I saw a new design in an airport store -- co-branded with Adidas.  Oooh, I had to have them.  But, they were $119!  So, I passed then.  But I kept thinking about them, and I bought them yesterday, albeit for less (but still expensive; so my recommendation comes with the "spare no expense" caveat: they are great if you don't care about cost; the Porsche of running headphones, if you will.)  After a day of use, I have concluded that they took my email, went to R&D and solved every single problem I had.  You know, like the Windows 7 commercials, where various people take credit for Windows 7?  I am taking credit for the CX 680. Sound great and stay in place.

And the new shoes?  I went lighter.  New Balance 905's.  They are a vibrant neon yellow/green, so I better be fast in them (I can;t stand people with flashy gear who aren't serious).  They are exceptionally light, much lighter than the Kayanos.  I'll post more as I break them in.  And, I ordered a pair of Saucony Hurricane 12's also at the suggestion of a friend.  (I had to buy two pairs of shoes.) I'll post my thoughts later.

But anyways, given the title of my last post (from the Aeneid), I went with another Roman proverb:  all journeys begin with a single step.  That was my run last night, the first step back.

I have missed all my bloggy friends, but felt so out of touch because I have not been running or training.  It is like reading about a club that I used to belong to.  But, alas, I am back.

TMI on My Feet

I walk past the Asics running store every day on the way to and from work. It is basically a brand new store, and I think the only standalone Aiscs store in the country. On one level, it is really cool. On another,it is sort of like shopping at a running boutique, and a rather limited one at that. My local running store carries more gear, more clothes, and the same Asics shoes.

One thing that the new Asics Store has, though, that is really cool is a very high tech foot analysis. They put little markers on certain places on your feet and put your foot in a box. The box makes a three dimensional scan and computer model of both feet. It measures distances, angles, etc. The exact length of each foot. Toe angles, too. And arch height. then they video a quick running session and calculate pronation, ankle angle, strike patterns, etc. The idea is that, after the analysis, they guide you to the exact right shoe and exact right size.

They can only do it for one person at a time, and it takes about 15 minutes. There are no appointments, and it is first come, first served. I have tried about 5 times to do it, and never gotten in (Just before the NY Marathon, I saw Deena Kastor in the store filming the video about the foot scan that is on the Asics store's website.)

Without further adieu, my feet:



My take aways: My left foot has almost a flat arch. Yikes! Did not know that. My right ankle has pretty severe pronation, whereas my left is essentially neutral. My left foot is 1.7 millimeters longer than my right (about half a shoe size). And I am a pronounced heel striker.

After all the analysis, etc, the computer spit out my recommended model and size: the stability model, Gel Kayano, size 12.5.

What shoes do I run in now? Gel Kayanos, size 12.5.