Two Weeks and Counting

It's hard to believe the marathon is only two weeks away. Now we start tapering back the mileage in order to let our bodies heal a bit before the race. I know my legs will appreciate it. Yesterday's long run was only twelve miles, and next weeks will be eight miles. Only twelve miles! Did I just say that? What's happened to me that I would think of it as only twelve miles. Last year at this time I couldn't run a 5K without walk breaks. Wow! I have to be careful about becoming too complacent as we start our tapering. Approaching any runs with a cocky attitude could spell disaster. In the words of Yogi Berra, "It ain't over 'til it's over."

Although I missed a weekday run last week, the ones I completed were great. I pushed up my pace a bit and ran two of the fastest six milers I've had -- thanks in part to Iron Maiden blasting out of the ipod. After the marathon I really want to work on some more speed. Being able to consistently run a 10K in under an hour would be pretty cool.

Our training group left from the Fargodome for this weeks training run. Kristy wasn't able to make it, but the rest of our bunch of back-of-the-packers (Rick, Jon, Erin, Chris, Maria, Shirley, and I) were all feeling great and ready to run. Eric from the running store joined us as well. The route followed a lot of the actual marathon course from north Fargo, through the downtown area, and a little bit into south Fargo. We could see where some roads had been covered by clay dikes during the flood. These had just recently been cleared so they were a little muddy in spots. I'm sure by race day they will be clean.

Our pace was a little faster than our normal long runs. Otherwise the run was pretty uneventful. A lot of chitting, chatting, and laughing as usual. Erin and Eric started ramping up the pace with about a mile left. I tried to keep up but just didn't have enough gas in the tank. About a half mile from the finish, Jon blew by me, passed Erin and Eric and finished at a great pace. Although the run was shorter, my legs were incredibly sore last night. I didn't have the stiffness that I usually have after a long run, but I had a very difficult time sleeping due to achy muscles. The good news is that they feel much better today.

No one in our bunch, except for the trainers, has run a marathon. I think it's amazing that all five of us first timers will finish the training, and it looks like we should all do well in the race. I know that having a fantastic group of people to run with has made it possible for me to come this far. A favorite quote of Rick's is, "A burden shared is a burden halved and a joy shared is a joy doubled." The meaning of this quote has certainly resonated with me during this experience, and I hope to approach all things in life with this sentiment.

I went to the Fargo Running Company yesterday and had Lamont and Eric help me get fitted with a new pair of shoes. I've had some doubts about a previous assessment done by someone else regarding my gait and thought I would get another opinion. My feet are quite flat which usually means I might  tend to overpronate. It turns out that the original assessment of no overpronation was correct. I can wear a neutral shoe but one with some support because of my weight. I like Asics shoes for their roomy toe box. I wanted to try on a couple of different styles, but they didn't have the cheaper one in my size. Eric and Lamont agreed that the Asics Gel Nimbus 12 (see picture below) would offer the support and cushion I needed. Eric sold them to me for a great price. Thanks guys!

New kicks! Sweeeeeeet!

After the marathon I have some home improvement projects to finish, so taking time for them is a top priority. Even with these projects looming I have started thinking about other races to enter this year.I know I want to run the Fargo Mini-marathon which is a half marathon held in October. I won't be running any more marathon distances this summer, but would maybe like to try a 25K or some more half marathons. Maybe a trail race or two? Hmmmm, so many choices. Time to start surfing the web for places to run.