New shoes and stuff

Weather for Saturday now expected to be 70F and sunny. A little cooler than yesterday's forecast, but that will be just fine.

I bought a new pair of road shoes today - the long run home made me realize that my trail running shoes don't really have enough cusioning for the road. Till today, I have always used Aics Kayanos, and they have served me well, however, since being prescribed orthotics by a podiatrist, he recommended that I switch to a neutral shoe rather than a stability shoe, which gave me the opportunity to look at other manufacturers.

In the end, it came down to two, the Asics Nimbus, and the Mizuno Wave Creation 10.

I ended up choosing the Mizuno. They are incredibly comfortable, and Runner's World describes them as "The Creation has always been a Clydesdale's best friend". Works for me.

I went for a 5k this evening, and I just had to step into a pothole and twist my ankle didn't I? For 15 seconds, I was in agony, and thankfully nobody was around to hear me wailing, "NOOO, WHY NOWWWW". Pathetic, I walked on it for a minute, and it was fine to carry on. A little sore now, but nothing that ice and ibuprofen won't cure.

Cold is slowly getting better, and all the junk from my sinuses is clearing out (I am always amazed by how much 'stuff' comes out of my nose when I have a cold. I reckon I have lost a couple of pounds this week just in snot. That was a bit gross - sorry.

Time for bed.

Cold update - oh and the weather

Today was a better day I think, I still have blocked sinuses (sinii?), but I felt ok. I managed 3.5 miles on the treadmill at lunchtime with no difficulty.

I have been following the weather updates since April 4 has been in the 10 day outlook. As of today, mostly sunny with a high of 74F is the forecast. For me, that is probably close to perfect.

I don't believe it!

I wake up Saturday and immediately noticed a blocked nose and itchy eyes. Crap, early signs of a cold? Yep. WHY THIS WEEK OF ALL WEEKS? Crap crap crap crap.

Well, we are going to find out what a combination of echinacea (tea and caplets), Mucinex DM maximum stregth, Zicam, Cold Eze, Theraflu and extra vitamin C tablets. Lots of water as well. Oh, and Lysine which apparently will help to reduce the risk of the [normally] inevitable coldsore.

So far, over the last 36 hours the cold has got worse, it would be nice if it has peaked and will improve over the next 6 days. I really could do without being congested on Saturday...........

The final countdown - 50 miles at Umstead

So with one week left to go to the 50 miles at Umstead, I am beginning to have that sinking feeling that comes everytime I do a run - I am under-trained and under-prepared. This is my first attmept at 50 miles, so of course I don't know if I am under-trained and under-prepared. I will know sometime on April 4th. I have now done 28.7 miles, and I felt like I could have gone further, and perhaps that is all I will need.

I have set no goals - except to 'finish alive'. I really don't care how long it will take to do the four laps, and as long as I keep telling myself that, and forcing myself to slow down and walk often during the early portions of the race, I think I will be OK.

I will have two 'drop bags', and knowing what to put in them is a bit of a challenge to be honest, the weather is predicted to be about 71F and sunny - but it is spring in NC, so it could get into the 80's or it could freeze - rain is always a possibility. Here is what I am thinking:

• Spare drink bottles
• Plenty of HammerGels and AccelGels
• Endurolytes
• Anti Fatigue Caps
• Vaseline and BodyGlide
• Headlamp
• Gloves if it gets cold
• Change of clothing - including an additional long sleeve shirt and a fleece if it gets cold.
• Spare MP3 player (don't think my batteries will last)
• Couple of pairs of spare running shoes (including that old worn-in, comfortable pair that I will probably need towards the end when I am mostly walking)
• Camera (or should I carry the camera)? Maybe my phone camera will do.

There is probably plenty more that I can't think of right now.

The "Big Run Home"

On Friday, I finally got to do the "big run home" from work. 28.7 miles in a little under 5:45 - 12 min/mile pace. I am pleased with the way the run went, and how I felt at the end.

So what did I learn?

A combination of AccelGel and Hammer Gel work well for fuelling. An occasional banana will ease hunger pangs.

• My new Nike DriFit shorts are very comfortable - no chafing.
• Drymax socks are wonderful.
• The batteries in my Garmin probably won't last for the whole of the Umstead 50.
• I need to get a pair of road running shoes as well as the trail shoes.
• My general fitness is as good as it has ever been.
• I need to ease back on my pace at the beginning. 11 min/mile at the start is probably a little too fast, easing back, and doing a little more walking at the beginning will help me towards the end.
  
  

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Running with company

Today was the first time I have ran with a group of people. It was very enjoyable, the company was great, and our hostess, Connie, opened up her house to a group of wet, cold and hungry runners which was very much appreciated. At a guess there were probably between 10 and 12 other runners.

I ran 6.9 miles on the wider trails with Tracy and it worked out well because her pace and her desire to walk up the steeper hills matched mine.

The weather was barely above freezing towards the end of the run, and the rain was really coming down, probably the most miserable conditions I have run in to be honest - and there is no way I would have ran today if it wasn't for the group run.

All in all, it was a very pleasant experience, and I will look forward to attending other runs, particularly if they are around Jordan Lake