The Rowe Family Blog

I’m depressed right now. On Tuesday night I ran a 4 mile run in just about 33 minutes. This is actually a VERY good time for me but I’m not happy about it. I made a big mistake by pushing myself hard on that run. I’m supposed to be taking it easy at this late point in my training program. I felt very good and capable on Tuesday so I pushed it. Besides a good time I also received a large blister under my toe nail that is threatening to push the nail off and was rather painful. I also received some shin pain. I didn’t focus much on my shins because I was so concerned with my toe. I popped the blisters under the nail and it felt better.

Tonight I was supposed to run 8 miles. I didn’t get nearly that far. I was concerned about my toe but it really didn’t bother me while I was running. Instead I had a moderate shin pain at the beginning of the run. While running I decided I would only increase my pace once the pain in my shins disappeared. Generally that happens after about 1 mile when I’m loosened up. The pain never got better. It got worse, a LOT worse. I quit the run after 3 miles and my shins are still on fire. I’m supposed to run 12 miles on Sunday but I really do not think that is smart. I’ve been battling shin splints through this whole training program and it’s NEVER been this bad. It wasn’t even this bad prior to running the Rochester Half Marathon this fall. I’m very concerned and rather depressed. I’ve worked very hard for this race and I’ll be very disappointed if it goes poorly because of shin splints or blisters.

My next 20+ mile run is the Walt Disney World Marathon!

Last week I had some good runs and some bad runs. On Tuesday I ran 5 miles in about 43 minutes. That was a good run. It felt good and I ran it quickly. On Thursday I ran another 5 miles in 43:30. That was not as good of a run. My time was good but I didn’t feel good running it.

Sunday was the big day. On Sunday I ran my third 20 mile run. I got up early to do the run but still didn’t manage to get on the treadmill until 9:30 in the morning. I was tired, I had a bad headache, and I really didn’t feel like running. Mary and I brought the third Harry Potter movie, The Prisoner of Azkaban as well as The Pacifier.

After only four miles I lost the mental battle and peeked at the display. I thought I had gone 5 or 5.5 miles when I had gone only 4. After 5 miles I was tired. That was bad. That was very bad.

In the days leading up to Sunday I had gotten into my head that I could finish 20 miles in 3 hours flat. To meet this goal I set my pace higher than I have done for any distance run on a treadmill. I set the pace at 6.4 miles per hour. Since I wasn’t feeling good to start with I believe it was a serious mistake to set the pace that high. Another mistake was that I ate too much at breakfast. I ate a medium sized bowl of cereal and a cookie.

As hard as it was I maintained the 6.4 mph pace for most of the run. It was tiring and I did walk multiple times sometimes for as long as 3 minutes. I finished in 3:14:14 which is about 8 minutes faster than my previous 20 mile treadmill PR (out of 3 20 mile treadmill runs).

And now the taper begins! My longest run until the marathon is a measly 12 miler.

Today I ran 8 miles on the treadmill. It was a good run, not as good as Tuesday night, but good none the less. In fact, it took me only 30 seconds longer than Tuesday nights run. I didn’t feel as good as on Tuesday though. My time today was 1:11:30.

I ran 7 miles on Thursday evening. I ran that very quickly. I finished it 3 seconds shy of one hour (59:57 for the extraordinarily mathematically challenged). I doubt I would have finished it in under an hour had I not had the benefit of the statistics provided by the treadmill. I forced myself to run much faster than I normally would have in order to finish in under 1 hour.

I’m very pleased with how my runs are feeling lately. I’m running much faster than I was when I started this training plan. For some reason the second I stepped onto a treadmill my pace increased by more than 1 minute. Lately I’ve been running at paces much closer to what I was running prior to the arrival of cold weather. Maybe my new sneakers are allowing my shins to heal enough that it’s making a difference? I’ll never know for sure and I don’t care very much the reason, the result is enough for me right now!

This week I have two easy 5 milers and the last 20 mile run I need to do prior to the marathon. After the 20 miler my tapering begins with my next longest run being 12 miles. I know I can do the 20 miler I’m just anxious as to how difficult it will be. If it’s not too difficult it might make my head too big for the race. If it’s very hard I might get discouraged. My sister, although she lives about 1,000 miles away, is going to run 20 miles with me next Sunday.

On Tuesday night I had the best run I’ve had in a range of around 8 miles.

Before the run I had to move some furniture at home. I was already tired and moving furniture didn’t help. By the time I was ready to go to the gym the only thing I wanted to do was go to sleep. I couldn’t do that because I have a training plan to follow that called for an 8 mile run.

I stretched out and hopped on the treadmill with low expectations. I could have fallen asleep while I was stretching. I put my towel over the display as I always do so I do not get discouraged by my (lack of) distance. I ran and I pretty much zoned out. I didn’t really watch TV and I didn’t really listen to the music I had playing. I just ran, and it felt good. It felt good enough that I decided to bump up my pace a bit.

I ran for a full 30 minutes without looking at the display. This was a mental victory for me. I always fight the urge to look because when I do I am usually disappointed that I have not gone as far as I expected. The treadmill shutting down after 30 minutes was a pleasant surprise especially since I had run much faster than I typically do. I started the treadmill back up at the same pace that I had been running and continued on.

During the second half hour I broke down and looked at the display before the half hour mark. This time I was very surprised because I had gone almost 3/4 of a mile farther than I had expected! I was running fast and I still felt great. I wasn’t tired anymore.

The best part of the run was mile 8. Since I felt so good I decided to try to do a very fast paced final mile. Usually I sprint for the last tenth or 2 tenths of a mile. I set the pace and ran. It wasn’t easy but I did it. I increased the pace further for the last couple tenths of a mile. I finished the 8th mile in 7:15! As far as I know I’ve never run 7 miles and then run a 7:15 mile. For all I know I may have never run a faster mile in my life. I may have run a faster mile during the Boilermaker right after I reached the peak of the hill on the golf course.

This 8 mile run took only 1:11:00 and I the last mile was completed in 7:15. That’s an 8:53 mile pace. Considering that the treadmill had to be started 3 times (at the start, at 30:00, and at 60:00) with at least a 30 second time period where it comes up to speed I probably would have been much faster on the road.

Today I ran a 16 mile long run. I did this on a treadmill at work and watched the movie Contact while running. I got up early to do the run because I had a lot to do this weekend and needed the time.

I ran faster than I’ve been running for most of the training. I completed the 16 miles in about 2:34 which is about a 9:37 mile pace. I ran at about 6.3 mph for nearly the entire run. For a while I went faster (6.4) and for a short period I ran slower (6.2).

This wasn’t an easy run for me. My legs were very tired by the end and I don’t think I could have gone a whole lot farther. It took a lot out of me. After I showered I ended up sleeping for an hour.

I have only one more really long run before the race. In 2 weeks I have to run another 20 miler. I’m ready for it but not looking forward to it. After that run the taper begins.

My sneakers arrived on Tuesday. My training plan called for a 6 mile run that evening. I decided not to wear the new sneakers because I was too lazy to lace them. I ran in my oldest running sneakers and finished the six miles in about 55:50. It was a pretty good run.

On Thursday I ran in my new old sneakers for the first time. I’m very happy to report that they feel just the same as my old sneakers, only newer! I ran in them for a distance of 7 miles. I completed that run in about 1:04:30. It was an excellent run. The entire run felt easy so I ran a bit faster. Near the end of the run some good music came on and I ran super fast. I finished the run at 9.5 miles per hour and I was running that speed for about two and a half minutes. Prior to that I was running at I think about 7.5 miles per hour for about 5 minutes.

The best part about Thursdays run was that the new old sneakers felt just as food as good as my old sneakers! I didn’t waste almost $70 on new sneakers and I should have sneakers that work well for me for the marathon.

Tomorrow I’m running 16 miles. I’m pretty optimistic about the run. 16 miles no longer seem like an excessively long distance. I really don’t have any fear coming into the run. 20 milers still scare me though!