My right foot

Excellent. Just...excellent.

10 days before my race, I started feeling...this. A dull, bruise-type pain in my right foot. Doesn't hurt all the time, just when I RUN ON IT. I have modified my gait to consciously avoid the natural pronation of my right foot, and that seems to quiet down the pain, pain, pain of landing. I even went out and bought new running kicks to see if the shoes I was wearing were the culprit. But no, the pain persists. Seems like some type of overuse injury in the making. And running 26.2 miles, at or near Boston-Qualifying pace this Sunday is sure to make it worse.

I'm trying to rest it and just see how it goes. The devil on my shoulder is whispering "stressssss fracturrrrre," in my ear. And I don't want to hear that. Not after four months of training, and NOT four DAYS before the race.

Oh, taper, how I despise thee.

Here's to hoping. Hoping that the pain will disappear, or at least subside long enough for me to finish this marathon in a respectable time. Hope hope hope.

Thirteen Days

The taper: my least favorite part of marathon training. These next two weeks are gonna be hard. I spent two hours last night staring at the marathon course map, trying to figure out how I'll be feeling where and when, come race day.

This race runs through a ritzy gated community that I haven't been able to access during my training. So, aside from the course drive-through video on their website, I have very little experience running on the marathon course. My strategy might, then, rely on mile markers and aid stations. In my traning, I found that it was helpful to break down my 20-milers into 9-6-5 milers. I might try to modify this descending strategy to a 10-7-6-3.2 miler. Hopefully this will make sense on race day. I don't know, maybe I'm just making things up, but I really think that breaking down the marathon into shorter, more manageable chunks is really going to help me out.

I wonder how much of this planning (read: worrying) is actually worthwhile and beneficial. Something tells me I need to step back and take a big breath. Phew...thirteen days.

While I was away...

Ah, yes, it does feel good. Very good. Since this last post in October, I've gone through quite a few changes. I moved out to Wilmington, North Carolina in November. Business or pleasure, you ask? ...Hmm, how about both? My Beebee and her family live in Wilmington, so I found a job here and hopped, skipped, and jumped on over. Oh, and I ran. Oh, did I run.

I set my eyes on the Wrightsville Beach Marathon (wrightsvillebeachmarathon.com) on March 20th, 2011. And I am happy to announce that I just entered the taper phase of an 18-week training program. That's right, I know. The things that happen when the winds of change are a-blowin'...

This training plan has actually gone without too many hitches. There was a little spell in the 11th week, where I rolled my ankle on a planned 18-miler. That was a dark day. A dark, dark day. And, probably on a related note, I got sick-as-a-dog later in the week and had to cut some miles out of the plan. But I was able to get back on the gravy train and enjoy the ride to where I am at today. Woot and a half!

Oh, I almost forgot to confess my dirty little secret. My goal time for this marathon. Last time, I pounded the streets of Tokyo and came out with a 3:59:31 finishing time. This go round, I'm shooting for 3:15. I'll take a 3:30. And in a perfect world, I would come in at 3:10. We'll see how it goes. But I'm sure I can finish faster than last time.

Les vents du changement

You know when you're in the shower, and the water's hitting the top of your head, and you get in some sorta trance, just standing there? Then, you look down and see that, suddenly, your fingers are all pruney. And you think to yourself, "How long have I been in here?"

Yeah, that's what happened with my running this year.

So, no qualifying for Boston this year. Somehow, I just let that pass me by. I guess I became too focused on going to the gym and working on those damned machines, ellipticalizing my way to a fuller sense of fitness. But no!

I'm back on it. Back running. Back to getting my groove back. One man. One fire. One burning desire. Boston, 20xx, here I come.

I ran around the park this afternoon a couple times, just 2.8 miles. Then I found a big hill the kids use for sledding in winter, and I charged up-and-down that mother ten times. I actually FELT my legs after this run. Feels like summoning the beast. And I like it.

Saint George No Go

So the folks in St. George passed me over this year. I won't be running their marathon this October. Oh well, their loss. :)

However, I did find a Boston Qualifying race around the same time of year. The first annual Layton Marathon will be held October 9th, 2010. No lottery with this one, just first-come first-serve.

I might have a chance with this one. I've been able to maintain a 7-minute mile pace so far, up to seven miles. I know damn well that I'll need to able to maintain that pace for much longer to qualify for Boston. But I do still have 3 and 1/2 months to get there.

I just bought new running kicks a couple of weeks ago. Went down to the running store and got my stride analyzed and everything. The whole shebbang. I'm going with Brooks again. Those have treated me well, and they will hopefully lead across the finish line of the Layton Marathon in less than 3:10:59 come this Fall. Woot!

Praying to St. George

I've done it. I've entered the lottery for the 2010 St. George Marathon. This is where I hope to qualify for Boston. The lottery results will be announced May 7th, 2010. I have three weeks of waiting and wishing, then I'll know if I'm in. I've got my fingers crossed (well, not really), but I've got some neurons firing off happy-lucky-win vibes in my brain. Watch this space.

Shamrock and Shamroll

Jeez Louise, time flies by. Already the Ides of April and I've yet to deliver my first blog of 2010. Better late than never, I suppose. So here it goes, the recap of the Yuengling Shamrock (Half) Marathon 2010!

I traveled to Virginia Beach, VA to run my 5th race in my quest for 50 half marathons in 50 states. I have a friend attending Grad School over yonder, so we decided to meet up and enjoy the Shamrock (Half) Marathon atmosphere together. One thing about this running friend should be noted. We don't only run...we run in costume!

And what would be more fitting than dressing up as leprechauns for the Shamrock (Half) Marathon? I dare say, nothing. We both wore big hats, I donned a red beard, she wore pointy ears, I painted my shoes GREEN, she painted her laces and T-shirt: "I'm running a Guinness (beer) world record!"

We were dressed to impress, and impress we did. We lined up in the first corral, surprised to be the only ones in costume. I mean, man, these people looked serious! Running singlets, too-short-shorts, steely-eyed looks of determination. For some reason, fast times don't always mesh with costumes. Go figure. And although we were here to have fun, we also had a goal time. Somewhere in between 1:45 and 1:50 lay my friend's hopeful PR, and I was here to push her (hopefully NOT literally).

The course was nice and relaxed, mostly an out-and-back straight shot through neighborhoods. There was a really soothing section where we ran through First Landing State Park. The towering forest trees guided us forward, and kept our mind off the distance. We also saw some little motivational signs posted on the side of the road. I think they had been placed by the Hash Harriers we had seen the previous day, running through the town dressed in drag. :)

I passed up the beer station at mile 5. But I did manage to bring myself to imbibe at the second stop, around mile 11. People loved our leprechaun get-ups, yelling our names and shouting, "Love the hat! Love the beard! Go Leprechauns!"

We were some fast leprechauns, too. We finished with a nice kick down the Virginia Beach boardwalk, side-by-side in 1:46:39. Go team! Next year, we're looking at running the Mardi Gras Half Marathon. Better start planning my running costume now...this should be a good one.