Long running and shoes

A few posts back, I was projecting what my Around the Bay time might be based on a half-marathon and  5km I did last fall - times in the 2 hr 35 min to 2:45 range. After doing two long runs over the past seven days, however, I've decided to revise my expectations. Now I just want to survive.

My first long run was last Wednesday, 15.77 km in 1:25 or a 5:24 per km pace. I pushed pretty hard, averaging 167 bpm - considerably higher than my usual 160 bpm training pace and pretty much my race pace. I felt OK afterward, but it was only half the race distance. The calculator projects my Around the Bay result at 2:49:12

The second session was last night. It was 23.43 km in 2:15:39 or a 5:47 per km pace. But it was a struggle at the end and while I think I had 6km left in my legs, it would not have been an easy 6km - especially with that infernal hill mixed in. The prediction: 2:57:06

My laissez-faire approach to my long training runs in going to jump up and bite me in the calf - or the hamstring or the knee. The issue on the long runs wasn't the cardio part, but the physical wear and tear - after a while it just hurt to put one foot in front of the other. I could also feel the strain mentally: at one point last night I just wanted to stop - not just that run, but my training, the race, this blog and my desire to run a marathon. I felt like quitting. It passed and I was able to finish strong but I think it was a signal as to what awaits me on race day.

To make matters worse, I'm having a shoe crisis. I've been running in New Balance 858 but the tread on the right shoe has worn away to the point where I'm running on a bit of plastic. I've had them since last September, or 6 1/2 months. They are stability shoes and while they've been OK, I've been wondering if there wasn't something better for me out there.

Because of my paralysis, my right foot badly over-pronates, or turns inward. I use orthotics, which have helped tremendously, but what shoes to use has been a struggle. I started with Brooks Beast, a motion control shoe and liked those just fine. But I couldn't find them in my size we I went re-up in preparation for the half-marathon so I went to the NB 858 which are a stability shoe. They've been OK, except for this weird tread wear.

I've been doing some reading on how people with orthotics should wear cushioning shoes because the orthotic provides enough support. One shoe store guru even told me that I could be hurting my orthotic and/or my feet by wearing stability or motion control shoes. They also blamed the wear pattern on the orthotic as well. With that in mind, I bought I pair of New Balance 883, a cushioning shoe with a square toebox in 2E width to accommodate my platypus-like feet.

Contrary to all advice, I wore my new kicks on the big run last night. They were fine for the first while, but then I started to feel a familiar soreness in my right ankle - the same kind of pain I felt before I got my orthotic. I don't think I'm going to get enough support from the cushioning shoes to compensate for my wonky ankle. After doing some more research, I think the NBs have to go back and should return my beloved Beasts. But that only leaves me with maybe three or four short training runs to break them in before race day.

So between not doing enough distance and the shoe fiasco, I've got myself in quite a mental twist about this race.  Luckily, only pride on the line.

Finally, the weather for race day doesn't look spectacular. Here's the long-term forecast. I really don't want to wear the dork jacket on race day, but if it's around the freezing mark, I just might have to...