I had thought that getting new running shoes back in August would've cured this -- after all, that was my impetus for getting fitted for new shoes in the first place. A solitary toenail had changed colors, so off I went to Fleet Feet for better kicks. And that resolved the problem for a while.
Then you'll remember a few weeks ago I got it on another toe. And now two more. So something clearly was not right -- and I found myself loosening the shoelaces of my regular sneakers during the day because they felt tight around my feet.
I returned to Fleet Feet and, come to find out, my feet have grown a half-size since August when I was last fitted. The explanation? The constantly-swollen state of my marathon-trained feet are making my current shoes too small. Which leads to more runner's toe. So I got a new pair of shoes (the same ones I wear now, just a half size bigger) and tested them out on my run today (they were super comfy). And that brings us to...
Today's Run
I had 14 miles on the agenda for today -- shorter than usual because this is a recovery week. However, this was an excellent opportunity to test my pacing and fueling for the Lake George Half-Marathon in two weeks. This race will be my "staging race" for the big day in May, to give me a feel for racing at a longer distance and a last chance to iron out the details.
I did a few things differently today. First off, no iPod. Many of you are probably like, "WHAAAAT???" but I did this for a couple of reasons. Some of my upcoming races are official USA Track and Field events and do not allow headsets on the course. The second reason was that I noticed over the past few weeks that I'm not really listening to my music anymore. I'm zoning in on my pace, my form, and paying more attention to my running and less attention to the music. Truthfully I can say I didn't miss having music and will probably continue to run without my music machine.
Secondly, I actually PACED myself today (novel concept, right?). Even though I felt like I could maintain an 8:30 minutes per mile pace right off the bat, I forced myself to slow down to 9:00. This way, I felt strong at the halfway point and most of the way through the last half. I did slow down near the end though (more details on this in a sec), but completed the run with an average pace of 9:16 minutes per mile...AND finished the 13.1 miles of a half-marathon distance within two hours, so that will be my target time on race day.
As for the sluggishness over the last four miles of the run, I attribute that to my change in fueling today. I am getting quite sick of Gatorade, and today the idea of it made me very nauseous. So trying something new, I filled my hydration pack with plain water and brought only Clif Shot gels as fuel. I think my body missed the electrolytes because, even though my cardio and my legs were still strong, I started to feel a little light-headed and walked a bit near the end.
Next week, I am going to try adding diluted Gatorade to my hydration pack and only using one gel. The second gel almost made me sick today. What ISN'T going to turn my stomach???? It's also getting pretty warm out when I do my runs, so I'm going to add some ice cubes to the bladder of my hydration pack to keep my water cool.
I only have ONE MORE long run in my training plan before I begin to taper (which means cutting down my mileage slowly to allow my body to heal for the race). The marathon seemed so far away when I started; it's hard to believe it's almost here!
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