Plugging away

Three weeks ago: 36 miles (4/7/4/7/14)
Two weeks ago: 41.5 miles (8/6.5+3.8/8/15.2)
Last week: 28 miles (8/8/12)

Monday: rest
Tuesday: run 9.2 miles
Wednesday: run 6 miles
Thursday: run 8.5 miles
Friday: rest

I ran on very tired, sore legs for about three weeks. Uggh. You see, I love to run, but my body is not biomechanically fit enough for all the pounding. I have ridiculously flat feet and no matter what shoes I put them in, I always end up with an injury. It doesn't matter how slowly I ramp up the mileage or how much I lift weights to strengthen the muscles that are neglected. I stretch until I can't stand it any longer. And yet, that soreness never dissipates.

I did the only logical thing I could do. Cut back on training. No. Cram five days worth of mileage into four days. Yes. Cram five days of a stepback week into three days. Yes. But the glorious four days off were all worth it. So glorious in fact that I ran past my turn around point on Tuesday night.

Official

Three weeks ago: 28 miles (4/5/4/5/10)
Two weeks ago: 32 miles (6/4/6/4/12)
Last week: 23 miles (4/6/5/8)

Tuesday: run 4 miles
Wednesday: run 7 miles
Thursday: run 4 miles

I registered for my marathon and I am now an official entrant for the 2007 Hyannis marathon. If I finish it will be my tenth.

The running has been going well. During my stepback week I ran a 5 mile "race". I never went with the intent of running all out, but rather putting in a solid effort. During that race I have never felt more like I am built for distance and not speed. I watched the men and women whip out in front of me with limbs flying. Some more elegantly than others. And there I was with my lungs burning with cold winter air, desperately trying not to cough. After the first lap (2.5 miles) I felt as if I had just started running. My second lap felt easier with each step and I avoided looking at my watch for most of the second half because I didn't want to ruin the moment with time considerations. With less than half a mile I finally looked down and was surprised to see that with some effort I might be able to break 45 minutes. I did that easily and finished in 44:19 with a :51 negative split.

Now if I could just get rid of the persistent soreness in my legs...