Sunday, April 29, 2012

New Sneakers and more miles

This week was as close to normal as I've been for months.  I went to spring track with my GTD friends Tuesday night, got up at 4:10 am to meet Hank for our 4:30 am jaunt on Thursday am,  long run with Hank, Annie and Dave bright and early Saturday am for 10 miles and today, for the first time, I race two days in a row.  I enjoyed a nice 5 miler with some speed tucked in at the end on a really beautiful Sunday morning - my favorite.

This week was a turning point in the sneaker department.  I've been wearing the Asics 21XX series for years.  They are what I started in and although I tested other brands/models in the past, I always came back to these - they just felt right.  I also have some Lycos inserts I use with them.  When I landed myself in PT back at the end of February, one of the first things my PT girl said was - you might want to think about a different type of sneakers.  This made me cringe.

I HAD tried other sneakers and I was afraid going into something new would just result in some other new injury but it started to make me think.  She felt I had two much support with both the stability and the inserts but that's all I ever knew.  It is also the opposite of what my chiropractor was telling me.  Question is - who do you listen to?

Well I decided I don't just listen to one person but take all of the data/feedback I get from everyone and make my own decisions based on how I feel.  The plan was to reevaluate the sneakers after NYC Half and Doyle's 5 miler.

So come this week, my last PT visit arrived (YAY!) and we analyzed how I run.  Well I kind of felt like a disaster as she critiqued my form and showed me that although I classic overpronater, the 2160s were just pushing me over the edge and also, my body may just be too used to them resulting in other problems.

I took myself to Runner's Alley in Nashua (http://www.runnersalley.com/) and called ahead to make sure someone would be there to assist me and really analyze what's happening when I'm running.  I spoke to and met with BJ and Renee who were both awesome.  Surprisingly the first pair of sneakers they brought out to me were Asics Nimbus model.  I just figured I'd jump to a completely different brand but in the end after trying out some Asics, Brooks and New Balance - I felt best in the Asics and that's what I brought.  After 5 miles in them today, I think I made the right choice so the goal will be to transition - maybe completely to the Nimbus and keep the 2160s for the long runs for additional stability for those longer days.  All feels good now though and that couldn't make me happier.

Weekly Mileage: 28 miles (hoping to go up from here!)
Speed: 3 out of 4 days with speed worked in

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Doyle's 5 miler



Today was a great day at Doyle's 5 miler.  I hadn't done this race since 2005 and only once before that in 2004.  Jay and I always talk about our early running/racing days when, well, we had no racing friends.  We'd finish a race, grab a beer - ask each other how how the race went - finish the beer and then go home - not all that exciting.

Today as a big change from that.   We met up with our good friends, their family and some other runners from RI that we don't get to see very often.  Although the weather wasn't the best, it turned into a day long affair and it was a really good time.

Today was an important day in my road back as well.  A lot of the latter weeks of my physical therapy were built around this race and running it.  After getting through this, I'm pretty much free to register for more races and move on with my running life.  The goal was to run a 7:05 pace for the 5 miles.  True to Gina form, I did not run a 7:05 pace but a 6:45 pace.  I felt great.  I finished with an overall time of 33:47 which is far better than I thought I could do.  Things are looking up!  I'm even running enough to start tracking my miles now.  I am still only allowed to run every other day of the week but I'll take it with a few good races in between.

Total miles run this week: 4 days of running = 26.5 miles of running
Speed: 3 out of the 4 days had some speedy speed!

Monday, April 16, 2012

Boston Spectator



Today was my first day being a spectator in the Boston Marathon crowd.  What a day really.  The record heat was unbelievable but given the warm winter we had - it could have gone either way right? It could have went this way or it could have been a threat of a blizzard - no one knew what to expect.  I had a lot of friends running today - some very seasoned runners and some it was their first marathon.  I was excited for a lot of reasons to be on the other side today. 

My plan had been all along not to run Boston this year; I'd like to do something in the fall and didn't want to have to wait to recover from Boston or even deal with any lingering fatigue from it.  It was a good thing I didn't sign up.  Although it's tough because it's the hometown marathon and a lot of people seemingly don't understand that there are other marathons in this world, it was in the end the right choice.  If I was able to run today - it really wouldn't have been worth it- I wouldn't have been in good shape, I would have risked re-injuring myself and I would have had to combat a day like today.  The right choice was made and that felt good.  It also felt good just to hang out with my friends, scream and clap my head off and just take in the scene of the race.  Boston Marathon is just plain awesome.

I have a tremendous amount of respect for those who ran today.  One can argue that anyone can run a marathon in ideal conditions but I think it takes a really strong person to persevere though a day like today.   I really felt motivated by watching all walks of life push on through out there today - congrats to all of the runners who finished or even ran today - totally inspiring!

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Seemingly smooth sailing

Post NYC Half - my recovery seems on track to really return to full strength hopefully by the end of May.  It's actually scary for me - I feel nothing wrong with my leg anymore - and having felt something wrong for literally a solid year this week, it's really weird!

With each passing week, I've been increasing speed and duration (not together - except when I break the rules which although I try not to, sometimes it happens).  I  have 2 PT visits left and then my PT girl said I can likely fly away on my own back to my coach to ramp up to normal training.  Yay!

My next race is Doyle's Pub Race on 4/22.  I'm just excited for that race because I haven't done it since 2005 and it's a fun one and of course there is beer.  I'm excited to see our friends Thor and Heather that we haven't seen in awhile and just really enjoy the day.  It finally feels like things are looking up.

I'm very committed to doing all the little things to keep me healthy.  If things stay steady I hope to sign up for the Toronto Marathon in the fall as my goal marathon.  I'm taking it day by day though but it's looking like I'll make my first trip to Canada in October!