Sweet Sixteen

Ok, so “sweet” might be an over statement considering the post run soreness, but Saturday’s 16 mile training run from the Longfellow Club in Wayland was my longest of this training season. Let’s face it, considering my lacking of training discipline in past marathons, it was also my longest training run period. The route was scenic, windy, and rolling. We ran past conservation land and agricultural areas in Wayland, Sudbury, and Concord. It was a great route.

Heading to the run I planned to run only 14 or perhaps 15, but once the legs start moving plans change. I decided to run the full sixteen for 2 reasons. Janel, my running partner, was determined to go the full distance and her determination inspired me to push myself a little further. Second, the routes for the group runs are not published in advance so it is difficult without a GPS unit to know the appropriate turnaround points for different distances. This is problematic for the engineer in me who needs to know to the tenth of a mile how far I’ve run. We were told pre-run that the water stops would be at miles 3.1, 6.2, and 8.0. In actuality I heard after that the 10K stop was more like 6.5, which makes sense since it seemed like the 8.0 miles stop was really close to it. But as you can see, no easy reference point for a 7 or 7.5 mile turn around point existed. And let’s face it, because it allowed me to hit an extra water stop, trekking the extra 0.5 mile prior to turning around make a bit of sense.

I ran pretty even splits on each leg of the run which I was pretty excited about. There was a time on the run back that I felt I got a “second wind”. Perhaps the second Gu kicked in. Whatever the reason, I felt the need to pick up the pace while I still had the energy. I’m not sure if that was the wisest decision since I fizzled out a little later and had to take a two small walk breaks, but I finished with the group I turned around with so no real harm done. The way I look at it, training runs are the perfect time to experiment with different techniques to learn how my body will respond before the marathon.

I did have a few uncomfortable moments with my left knee during my run. On the way out, I had some pain across the knee cap for about a tenth of a mile. The roads were very narrow and had a steep cant to them, so I think this contributed to the pain. On the way back, similarly for about a tenth to two tenths of a mile I started to feel like my tibia was trying to push itself through my patella. That was a new sensation I hope not to keep again. The top part of my tibia has been a bit sore. . . seems like bone and not muscle but I can’t be sure. Neither my knees nor my shins gave me any troubles on a 40 minute Arc Trainer workout on Sunday, so I’m hopeful it is just normal aches and pains of running so far. A Physical Therapist will be speaking at this week’s DFMC team meeting and she will be providing complimentary injury consultations so I hope to get some answers then, or an opinion on whether I should be seeing a sports orthopedist.
On the fundraising front, things are going very well. My total to date stands at $3650. Many thanks to J.C. Cannistraro, Peter McManus,, The Welch Corp., Roz Lemieux, and C.P. Blouin. I am almost halfway to my initial goal of $7500, and 36.5% of the way to my stretch goal of $10K. Thanks everyone. I love checking the mail boxes (virtual and physical) each day to find your fundraising surprises.