9 weeks until the marathon

Miraculously, I am still hanging in there. This week went very well!

I rode my bike on Monday. I had some minor pain in my knee when I went uphill or otherwise had to pedal hard, but I mostly felt ok.

Tuesday I did another run home from work, this time adding a loop around the path at Promontory Point to make it 8 miles. It went pretty well. It was REALLY humid, and I did have a few shin, knee, and hip issues from time to time, but overall it went better than when I ran home last week. No walk breaks. I didn't have my watch, but I made it door to door in just over 90 minutes, so that's a pretty good clip.

I felt ok on Wednesday -- no worse, but also not really any better. I wasn't having any sharp pains while walking, but I still had a sense of not-right-ness. I remembered how last week ended up, and how I wished I had skipped one of the mid-week workouts in favor of being able to complete my long run. So, I stayed home from speed work.

Thursday morning I got up and ran my 5 miles in the morning. It was pretty much the same as Tuesday. Only a few minor issues, and the rest of the day felt no worse, but no better.

I biked on Friday and everything just still felt the same. No worse -- but still not normal and not getting any better.

So, I was not feeling all that great about my prospects as I got ready for my long run Saturday morning. But, I figured I had nothing to lose. I either did this long run, or I called it quits. So considering that making my shins worse would have the same effect as just sitting it out, I did not hesitate to try for 16 miles.

I felt a little stiff when I first started out, but after the first half mile, I have to say that I felt fantastic. Something has definitely changed about my form. I'm not completely consistent about it, but there were several long stretches when I felt like I was gliding forward, rather than pulling myself along. I'm pretty sure that's because I am finally striking the ground with my foot underneath me and pushing off backward, rather than striking in front of me and using my shins to pull my weight forward.

I can't say that I didn't feel any pain ever. There were episodes of quad pain, shin pain, knee pain, and even my old friends the psoas voiced some discomfort from time to time. However, everything faded eventually. I think (hope pray beg) that all of that was just the normal kind of discomfort associated with distance running.

I finished 16 miles in 2:59:15. That's a pace of 11:12 per mile -- a pace that, if I were able to keep it up for another 10.2 miles, would give me a finish time of 4:53:44. That time also included many short stops at water fountains, as well as three longer stops to eat a gel or drink some Gatorade at a hydration station. (Bless you, Fleet Feet and hydration station volunteers. BLESS YOU!)

Since I had experienced pain pretty much through my whole lower body during the run, when I got home, I did something I never thought I would do. I took an ice bath. I filled my bath tub with enough icy cold water to submerge my legs, and I sat in it for 15 minutes. I have to say that stepping into it was among the more miserable experiences of my life, but I think it helped. I was extremely stiff yesterday after watching a 2 hour movie, but otherwise the soreness has not been bad. I did a lot of walking yesterday, and a little today, and while I had some achy-ness, overall I felt pretty good.

So, I'm still in this. I know that I still have 9 weeks to go, and plenty can happen in that time. However, I feel I have reason to be optimistic. I actually feel better today than I did on Friday, before I ran 16 miles. That has to be a good sign.

I'm planning on doing all four runs this week. Here's the plan:
Monday: bike
Tuesday: 8 miles
Wednesday: speed work (3 x 1 mile)
Thursday: bike
Friday: 5 miles
Saturday: 10 miles

Miles on my latest pair of 2150s: 38

16 miles. No matter what happens, I can always revel in that.