Growing Runs and Growing Pains

As of this writing we are 3 weeks away from the Marathon. The past month has been the most intensive part of the training ie. I’ve run lots of miles. I ran 88 miles in July, 100 miles in August, 102 miles in September ( this is low due to my knee injury which forced me to cut back for 2 weeks), and so far 120 miles in October with 2 days of running left. The miles have had their effect on me, some good and some not so good.

The good news is that it appears I am on track to have a decent shot at finishing the Marathon. Since that has been my goal all along, I consider this huge. I’ve completed one 14, two 15's, and one 20 mile run. The times (miles per minute) for these longer runs are now almost identical to the times for the shorter runs (5-10 miles). I have chosen to consider this a good thing since I’ve never been able to significantly increase my pace at any distance. The fact that it isn’t falling off at such long distances gives me hope that at least I’m getting stronger and more conditioned if not faster.

Now for the not so good news, at the beginning of the intense training period my left knee was still very weak and sore and my right knee was starting to hurt too. I iced both knees multiple times a day, never leaving home without my cooler full of ice packs. I slept with a heating pad between my legs. I went through large amounts of Epsom salts. The pains would  slowly improve until the next long run then come back again.

One day, I wore my running shoes to work. All day, I was walking "crooked". Once I decided it wasn’t me, I started exploring other possible explanations. That led me to look at the bottom of my shoes. From the inside heel to the outside heel, there must have been at least a half inch difference of tread height. This difference continued through the entire length of the shoe to a smaller degree. Both shoes were in the exact same shape. This prompted a trip to the local running store. This store is devoted to meeting the needs of the running addicted. I explained to the young clerk that I thought I needed new shoes. I showed him my old ones and also told him that my knees were hurting. He examined them briefly, told me that the wear pattern was common, and determined that I needed a more stable base.  Ok, I could go with that. But then he asked me to walk barefoot across the room while he watched. Yes, he confirmed, I needed a more stable base. I checked his name tag to see whether he was a Sports Trainer, a Podiatrist, or maybe even an Orthopedist. Neither, he was just your average Joe “I need a job because I just got out of college with a worthless degree” Blow. Obviously, I was skeptical. Next he measured my feet. Joe decided I needed a size 9 and a half!!!

 “I wear an 8 and a half”, I sputtered indignantly.

“No,” he stated calmly,” you wear a 9 and a half.”

After trying on a few models, I swallowed my disgust and picked the least offensive pair. It was a strange feeling, I could actually wiggle my toes in them! Could this be right?

Running addict that I have become, I didn’t let my new big feet stop me from training. I had 2 months to break in my new shoes before the race. So, I kept running and running. The day of our 18 mile training run, coach and I once again went into Philly. We had run our 15 along the Schuykill River and it had gone very well.  It made sense to go there again. Only problem, I was sick. I was up all night with another case of the runs (I seem to get this same illness about once a quarter). By mile 5, I had already blown up 3 porta-potties and was fading fast. At mile 8, I tried to refuel with large amounts of Gatorade and a banana. By mile 11, I gave back all the Gatorade, banana, and most of what I had eaten in the past 24 hours to yet another porta-potty. That’s when it happened. I quit, gave up, surrendered. For the first time since the training began, I did not finish a run that I had started. I staggered out of the porta-potty, (trying to forget what had just transpired) and told coach I couldn’t go on. Good man that he is, he volunteered to run and get the car for me. Before he left, he instructed me to find a park bench and wait for him. We were 2.5 miles into an 8.5 mile loop. I was very thankful and touched as I watched him run off until I realized that he was running in the wrong, LONG direction. Ok, so the world does not revolve around me. I started walking the other, SHORT direction, looking for but not finding a park bench. We ended up getting back to the car at about the same time. He was pumped about the run. He really needed it. He has spent so much time running with me that he must have been bursting to finally run at his own pace. The walk had helped calm my stomach down as well although at least one concerned person commented on how bad I looked! I went home and spent the rest of the day on the couch.  

Coach adjusted my running plan for the next few weeks to make up for the lost run.  Yesterday was the test to see if I was back on track and ready to peak at 20 miles. We ran it in 3 hours and 59 minutes with much encouragment from coach. Our goal was to come in under 4 hours. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! We now go into our scale back stage (shorter runs) which allows the body to rest and recover for race day.

Oh yes, one more thing…I want to give a big shout out to Joe Blow!! My knees are no longer hurting before, during, or after any runs short or long. Guess I did need a more stable shoe, even if it was a size 9 and a half.

You go Joe Blow!! You rule the Running Store world!!