The Daily Log 1/11/09

Distance: 8.39 miles
Time: 1:19:54
Pace: 9:31/mile
Weight: 193lbs
Terrain: Gently rolling first half, moderate up and down second half
Temperature: Colder as the run went on
Gear: Short-sleeved Adidas Climacool Shirt, Nike running shorts, Road Runner Running Cap, iPod Shuffle, Nike Air Zoom Vomero Shoes
Hydration: Water
Fuel: None
Medical: Right Shin
Recovery: Stretches, ice, Aleve
Shoe Mile Count: 18.84 miles
Days until Marathon: 7

One week from now, whether I succeed or fail, my journey will be over. I might have mentioned that I've already targeted my next run - a half-marathon in late March in a neighboring town - but I must admit, I am a bit worried that, having been at this for more than four months now, I will feel somehow empty like something I've been living with has been taken from me. The bigger fear is that this feeling will cause me to stop running and revert back to my lazy ways, undoing the good work I've done to this point. Hopefully not, but still, it's like anything. You get used to it, and whether it's hard or not, you miss it when it's gone.

That being said, I'm still a week away, and today marked the last significant run. Between now and the race, if all runs go as scheduled, I'll run 4 on Tuesday, 3 on Wednesday, and then a little 2 miler on Friday in Arizona. In fact, I could probably skip all three of these and still feel fine about the work put in so far to line up on Sunday. Knowing my history, that's unlikely, but still... my point is that I was keen to get this run in because I knew it was probably the last time I would run a long enough distance to a) test my shin and b) test my new shoes.

The first half I ran with Jill at a slow pace (10:40ish per mile), then I sped up in increasingly cold conditions (considering what I was wearing) to an 8:15 per mile pace. My shin was mostly fine; probably slightly better than Friday even, though it was quite sore before I set out. I don't foresee this going away, but neither do I see it being a particular issue on race day, either as something that might stop me from competing, nor even as something that will slow me down to any significant degree.

As for the shoes, I'm still a bit torn. The heels feel great, but I have always bounced a little when I run. The balls of my feet are where I "spring" and tend to correspond with the parts of the shoes that wear down first. As I'm used to "worn down" with the old ones, the new ones being built up feel like they are digging in. My strategy is therefore this... on Tuesday I will run my 4 miler in the old shoes. If they feel more comfortable, I'm sticking with them through race day. If not, I'll probably take my chances with the new ones.

While we're on last minute dilemmas, this weekend's NFL playoffs transpired in such a way that the usually beleagered Arizona Cardinals will host the NFC Championship game the very same day I'll be running. I don't know anything about Phoenix, where the stadium is, or how everyone gets there, but it would be a novel twist if I spent longer driving back to the hotel because of football traffic than I do running the race.

Am I a glass is half-empty kind of guy all of a sudden?

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