My left shin hates me, and new running shoes

Happy long weekend!  Did you all enjoy your extra day off yesterday?  We sure did.  And it was kind of awesome to wake up this morning and realize that I still have a whole weekend ahead of me.  3 day weekends are a necessity sometimes.

 

I haven't given you all an update on running lately, and I feel like that is bad.  Without a doubt, running is one of the biggest aspects of my life right now, right up there with family time and work.  However, because it's "just one of those things" that I do now, it seems... boring (???) to tell you about it.

For anyone just joining in on our adventures, or for those who may just want the refresher, I am following Jenny Hadfield's 20 week walk/run marathon training plan.  I used her half marathon walk/run program when I successfully PR'ed at the Lincoln Marathon in May, and I am all about sticking with things that work.  Currently, I am just finishing up my 6th week of training.

Honestly, up until the end of week 5, everything was coming up roses in my training.  I got in almost every training run on my schedule, my mileage was on point, and even my "not so great" runs were pretty okay.  And then week 5 happened...

During my Monday run that week, I noticed some pain in my hip flexors and shins, two areas that I NEVER have any issue with.  I was fairly sure that it was a shoe issue... while I don't keep track of the mileage on my shoes, I do try to be aware of how worn they are.  Somehow, my shoes going critical snuck up on me:  so fast, in fact, that I decided to run on the shoes a couple more times, just to make sure that it actually was the shoes, and not an off-day.  It was definitely the shoes, and by the time my long run came around (which I use a different brand of shoes for), my body had a few things to say to me.  I was hoping that simply by taking an extra rest day between my weekday runs and my long run, plus having shoes that are not worn out, I could get through my scheduled 8 miles without issue.

The good news is, I DID get through my 8 miles.  The bad news is, it was pretty slow going and miserable.  A lot of my longer runs have been like that lately, while my weekday runs have felt really good and faster than ever.  Lately after a long run I am able to stretch out and then go about my day pretty normally.  However, I felt completely wrecked after my run on Sunday.  I felt like my legs had just been taken out by a 2 x 4.  I decided then and there that I would be re-arranging my week 6 schedule to make it easier as needed, and then adjusting my week 7 schedule (a planned "easy" week) to compensate.  On Monday, I ran in my new weekday running shoes.  I told Ammon that I was only going to go for as long as I still felt good, and somehow I managed my entire planned 45 minute workout at a normal pace.  I think it had something to do with the difference in the bottom of my shoes.

I can't believe I got that much wear out of those shoes.  I'm pretty impressed with myself about that.

After the high of getting through my Monday run, I was sure that the whole week would come up roses.  Except that my left shin is still being a jerk, and now it's Saturday, and I haven't run once since Monday.  I decided to take some good rest for the rest of the week once I realized that I could rest for a week now, or for 3 weeks closer to my marathon.  Since next week was planned as an easy week, I'm just going to move my mileage to week 7, and then pick back up in week 8 as planned.  With any luck, this rest will be the only major time out from running that I have during this training cycle.

I'm also really looking forward to getting to run in a new place soon!  We are headed to Southern CA in a couple of weeks, and I'll be taking my running crap with me.  We're staying with my best friend, who lives in Santa Monica, and I've heard that they have some incredible recreation trails out that way.  I am hoping that it will be a major highlight of this training cycle.

And with that, I really should go do some yoga.  I haven't been doing enough of that lately, and I'm hoping that it helps.  Hope you all are really enjoying your long holiday weekend!