New Shoe Mistake 101

I bought new shoes the other day and used them for my long run today. Generally, not a smart thing to do. I needed a title for the blog, and it is true, the first run with my shoes was 2 hours and 49 minutes somewhere between 19 and 20 miles.

It hurt today. My knees, hips, and actually my lower back were the culprits. Aerobically, everything went pretty well. I kept the average heart rate at 156, and considering the effects of heart rate drift from dehydration, I am pretty satisfied with how I felt. I feel good about running a marathon, and feel fit too. I know I desperately need the next three weeks to heal. I currently do not have any injuries, so everything is going really well. The weather was perfeect, actually "fall-ish" for Houston. The humidity wasn't oppresive, and the temperature was probably in the mid-eighties. I am glad to put this run in the books. In a perfect scenario, I would have run another 11 minutes to get to three hours, but near the end I felt sufficiently beat up. I had a few hot spots/blisters; they really didn't hurt, but they were noticeable. I can't complain though, its always a good idea to break in a pair of shoes before doing a long run!

From a mental standpoint, a few things happened.

First, the Ipod didn't work, so it was not as enternaining of a run.
Second, at about 2 hours and 15 minutes into the run, four people passed me one right after another. The only good thing is they were not sweating, so I doubt they had been running much up to the point they passed me. I don't mind being passed, but all at once when you are hurting and you don't want to catch up is. . . . well, I will just stop whining about it. I am not a fast enough runner to be worried about being passed. I am actually used to it!
Third, I am tired of long runs. The chafing, The aching, The gels, the "empty" feeling afterwards, and just the length of just plodding along. i will stop whining, my friend Dave said he was thinking about doing a 50 miler . . . .

I will say, the long run is so important for marathon training. In my opinion, it is the key element behind good results in a marathon.

Enough of that. I also swam, and it went pretty well. I went just over an hour. I am always a little slow to warm up, but I am feeling pretty good about starting the swim without my floaties.
I may need them halfway through . . .

Thanks for checking in. Tomorrow, is the last long bike ride (Its a couple days over due!) Then its Taper Time!!!!

Notice how many times I said "I" in this post. This wouldn't be possible without Andrea's support. She has to take care of things when I "get" to go to work or go workout. I do appreciate it, and she is doing a fantastic job as a mom and wife! Thanks, Honey! I Love You!

KonaSpeed!!!