All caught up

Ok, I think I've finally caught up with my running logs.  I've rearranged the posts on this page so that the running logs are in the actual order I ran them.  I think. 

New Old Shoes

This whole season, I've been training in a pair of New Balance 767s.  I've really enjoyed them - they fit well, my legs seemed OK, and they were MUCH more cushiony than the Brooks.  Well, over the past 2 weeks, I started developing some stiffness and eventual pain in my achilles tendon (first left side, and now right).  I though the symptoms meant my shoes were reaching the end of their useful life, so on Saturday I went to Luke's Locker to get a new pair of the 767s…..with just enough time to break them in for NYC.  I ran in them on Sunday and Tuesday with no problems.  But on Wednesday, I started developing a blister on the joint of my big toe.  And, my achilles problems were back in full force.  I have no idea why I was suddenly having so many problems - the last time I had a blister was when I was trying out a pair of Asics two years ago.  

So, long story short, I'm back in the Brooks Adrenalines.   I'm really not thrilled.  These are good shoes in the sense that they do the job and have never given me any trouble……but they're SO stiff and hard.  I've even tried looking for inserts or something that I could use to make the shoes feel softer.  Comparing the Brooks to the New Balance, the Brooks feel like I'm running on plywood while the New Balance feel like little pillows.  

But, the sudden achilles pain and random blister got me nervous about wearing these shoes for NYC.  I don't want to find myself at mile 10 with a painful blister on my toe.   I'd end up obsessing over the blister, and the rest of the race would suck.  So, after a long discussion with the guy at Luke's, I decided to play it safe and go back to the Brooks. bleh. 

My longest long run

Another reason I wanted to switch back to the Brooks ASAP is because I'm doing my 21-mile long run on Saturday, and I didn't want to run in bad shoes.   I'm nervous about the run - I was sick the weekend of my scheduled 18 mile run, so the longest distance I've done so far is 14.5.  Plus, if I want to finish NYC under 5:00 (4:59:59 hee), I need to maintain a 11:20 pace throughout.  Can I do it?  I guess I'll find out on Saturday.  

My planned route will be three loops around Memorial (9), then up Allen Parkway to George R Brown and back (~12 to 13).   I got more gu (Accelerade gu), a red blinky thing to wear on my butt (I plan to start at 6am, so I'll have an hour of darkness), and some Wrightsocks (known to prevent blisters).  I'm loading up my little MP3 player, and trying to take things easy before Saturday.  I'm flying to New Orleans tomorrow for work, but it's not a big meeting so I'll still be able to take it easy.  

Oh, and I need to read that damn Garmin manual again.