Monday, April 5, 2010

The Final Countdown

This time in two weeks, I will be running my happy little butt off from Hopkinton to Boston!  And I am finally wicked excited!  I do have all the normal runner's nerves and fears, but I am embracing the excitement and hoping it carries me through these final two weeks of tax season and Boston countdown :)

I had a busy, busy weekend.  Friday night when I got off work I headed to the gym because, again, the wind was just AWFUL.  I have been loathing the gym all week, but it seems to be the only place I can get my run on when the wind is just blowing me from side to side.  I had six easy on the books but I just cannot do slow on the treadmill.  Any extended period of time on the thing and I begin to loose my mind!  So, my crazy running brain thought it would be good to get in another speed work out all the while forgetting I had my last 20+ miler the next morning.  Well, the speed work went great...I did a ladder workout and finished the run strong ready to go home and scarf down some Indian food before my big run.
6 miles 44:06  7:21/mi pace  My legs felt strong the whole run, but my knees have been killing me lately again.  I don't know if it is just my head playing games on me because when I stop to think about it all, I have five weeks of races starting this weekend.  It's a little overwhelming when I attempt to wrap my head around it, but at the same time, like I said, I am wicked excited.  But needless to say, my knees were not happy after that run.  I iced like a mofo when I got home, stretched rolled my quads out and hoped for the best.

Saturday morning I had planned on hitting the trails around 7:30.  Like, my butt should have been running at 7:30 am, but my body decided to continue to sleep until 7 am!  I guess I needed the sleep!  I had also planned to head up to Aron's neck of the woods to switch things up for this long run.  I know this can happen to us all - we get tired of running the same routes all. the. time.  The thought of running 20+ miles on the same path I have been doing was too daunting, so Ari and I packed up the car, drove about 45 mins and went to do my run on the Iron Horse Trail.  I was not disappointed either, so worth the drive.  The weather was cool, the path was not crowded and I was able to put my head down and just run.  My knees were still bothering me though.  By mile 5 the pain was kind-of sharp.  I took a Gu and just continued to power through.  At the same time though, in the back of my mind, I knew something was just not right.  I was running in my Nike Lunar Glides that have about 250 miles on the.  I love them so much.  Nice and light, and yet still supportive.  I wanted to use these in Boston so this was going to be our last run together until April 19th.  They were just not doing the trick though.  I even started running on the little dirt path next to the paved path because it made my knees feel better.  By mile 10 they were aching bad.  I took another Gu, and a salt tab, and popped some Advil to get the final 10 in.  They were uneventful other than my knees were just aching.  I'm worried, and yet I don't think it's anything too serious.  I have had a great training cycle and this week I finished up with 52 miles.  All those miles, two speed works and a long run probably are what made them scream.
20.8 miles  2:52:17  8:17/mi pace  I did stop 4 times - twice to Gu, once to tie my shoe and once to pop the Advil and stretch.  Aside from those, my pace was pretty consistent and I would find my pace pretty easily when I was out there.  I am so glad this run is done.  I start my taper next week and I couldn't be more happy.  Just one more week of about 45-50 miles and I will be ready to hit the ground running and hopefully, just hopefully, BQ in Boston :)

When I was done though, I couldn't ignore my knees.  The only thing I was thinking was that it was my shoes.  They do have some significant miles on them, and I had toyed with the idea of getting new ones before Boston.  But I couldn't find a pair of Lunar Glides down by me.  So we headed over the Road Runner Sports to pick up a new pair right away.  When I tried on the new ones, they didn't feel all that great.  They didn't feel like new shoes.  Maybe it was my tired feet - I literally had just ran 20 miles.  But it wasn't the way it should feel.  After talking to the sales guy, and telling him my needs, he brought out a pair of Asics Gel Nimbus 12's.  I was hesitant to try them on.  I love my Nike's.  I have five pairs!  But I tried them on and they felt...awesome.  They are a little different feel, as Nike uses air in their soles, and Asics uses gel.  But nothing I couldn't get used to.  They feel awesome and I'm excited to run in them!

I didn't do my recovery run in them yesterday as it was raining out :(  And I don't think I will today either as the rain is going to continue.  I am hoping to do my med-long run in them on Wednesday/Thursday and see how they feel.  If they are a no go, I do have other Nike's I can wear, but I have a feeling they will be my new best friends.

I got in my recovery miles before Mass yesterday and was able to enjoy a relaxing day with my family knowing that I have filled my tank for Boston.  Not much more I can do to be ready, just one little race next weekend and then I'm off- the final countdown :)  I hope you all had a great Easter and rocked those runs and races!  I'm off to catch up on blogs!
Oh, and one more thing - the core challenge ends on April 9th, so give this week your final push peeps!  I can't wait to see who wins!!
Happy Monday and Happy Running!!!


22 comments:

Alee said...

I run in these Asics and love love love them! I hope they work well for you.

Mel -Tall Mom on the Run said...

Holy Fastness!!! Wow oh wow what pace are you training for? I always want to kick up the pace in my long runs but I am trying to follow the SLOW trainign plan.. Hmmmmm...

I still have no clue how you get in 50ish miles, I struggle to get in 40.

Hugs to BIG races coming up you are going to rock them out buddy!!

Jill said...

You're just a running animal...that's all I can say!! I'm screaming taper this week and I've barely ran and you're plowing through one more tough week. I guess that's the dif between a hard core 3:30 marathon and my measly 3:46. Ha. Good talking to you, girl, on Friday!! :). Have a great week running (I ran 16 and walked the last two..shows you how wimpy I am, I need some Katie mojo!! Hugs to you, sweetie!!!

Sarah said...

You are such a rockstar! You are going to kick ass at Boston. :)

The new shoes look great, hope you love them!

RunToTheFinish said...

once again you are amazing all of us! I agree my knees start to hurt when I have a few too many miles on my sneakers and you know I just started to notice that today!

TMB @ RACING WITH BABES said...

Katie - I may be speeding up, but you are too fast girly! How did you hold that pace for 20 miles? Amazing. I'm gonna have to come out there so you can pace me to a super speedy PR!

I love asics. They are all I wore through college and up until Nov. Now my extra bone in my ankle doesn't like them. So I had to make a switch. I was super sad to though!

Anonymous said...

Good job-- way to get it done. Now enjoy your hard work and taper well. Don't let your head get hte best of you!

One word of caution, it is HORRIBLE for your liver and kidneys to process ibuprofen during a long run. In fact, it can really screw with your system, so just be careful there.

ajh said...

Good luck with your knees. Hope the new shoes are just the ticket. As everyone is saying.........you are FAST girl!!!!

Tara said...

I can't believe that Boston is only two weeks away. Man time has gone fast. This is going to be a cool race for me to keep track of since so many of my friends are going to be there!!!

I've never ran in Asics, but I would be up for anything as long as they were comfy.

I feel for ya on the wind!!! GO AWAY!

Angela and David said...

Be careful with your knees. At this point it's better to not get the mileage in than to risk injury! Listen to your body!

Hope this week of training is great and injury free.

Teamarcia said...

And hopefully by this time in 2 weeks I'll have managed to will my tired carcass across the finish line. One can hope.
Right now all my shoes are giving me hell. The Mizunos still hurt, even the old ones now, the LunarGlides gave me a nice blood blister, maybe I'll be barefooting it I swear.
Funny I used to wear the Asics Gel Nimbus! :)
Can't wait to see you! :)

Jess said...

Hope the new shoes make everything feel better! They sure are purty!

Good luck with the taper. I imagine that a Boston taper is pretty nerve-wracking; however, less nerve wracking is the fact that you've already qualified, so really, the toughest part about doing Boston is already behind you!

Anne said...

You are so ready for this!!!!
Can't wait to read all about it :)

Anonymous said...

In my next life, I want to be as speedy as you!

Love the new kicks!

Heather said...

Wow, awesome job on that last big long run! You are going to be super speedy in Boston. Hope the new shoes help your knees feel better!

Jo Lynn said...

I hope running on sore knees just to "get the last 10 miles in" didn't hurt you. You are so dedicated and SO fast. People could learn a lot from you. ;)
Are you doing the 1/2 marathon in Santa Cruz? I did that a few years ago, it's a nice course.

Denise said...

loved reading that you're excited!!! i'm excited for you!!

N.D. said...

you are going to be so happy in 2 weeks, I think I smiled the whole way - it's so fun!

ajh said...

I have reviewed my last few marathons on Marathon Guide. When I am looking for a marathon to do I read the reviews on there like it is my job!

Katie said...

peanut m&ms are amaazing. this is me not helping. :) i hope your new shoes are awesome and you run happy in them!

Marathon Maritza said...

Awesome job! I'm not liking this wind very much here either, so great job getting around that and getting it done!

I'm so excited for you in Boston! 12 days!!!

Emily said...

I'll be at the meetup! And i am running the 5k too...but planning to just kind of jog it, what's your race plan? CAN'T WAIT!