A Weekend Of Racing...or Just Running

Ahh.....Labor Day weekend. A wonderful specimen of weather conditions, and an OK weekend of racing, or was I just running?? Saturday morning at 7:00 am, I decided to run (or drive) over to McCullum Park in Downers Grove to run the St. Mary's 5K. This is the second year for this race, and I run it because the two little girls across the street go to this school, and it is the easiest way for me to do something to help their school raise money. So, I filled out my form, wrote my check, and headed over. I arrived in plenty of time, and to my surprise the folks from Runners Grove (my favorite running store) were there. Sat and chatted with them, then went to the race start. I had no intention of running a PR today, as I was still recovering from Accenture the weekend before. I started off fine, just felt so sluggish and tired. This was my first 5K since June! I have been running those crazy endurance races... Anyway, I was well on my way, and felt not too bad through the race. I almost forgot my 5K race strategy that I have used in the past, and even on this particular course. I finished the race at 23:54, not my best, but definitely not my worst. I guess it's time to get back to the speed workouts....might help me improve that time. I really want a 22 something by the end of this running season.

Then, Monday came. I rested by the pool all day on Sunday, but had decided the Thursday before Labor Day weekend to run the Oak Brook Half Marathon. Crazy, I know. But, I needed a 13 mile long run this past weekend, anyway, so why not just run a half? I wasn't going to race, I know I need to save my legs for the marathon, so I was using this run as a training tool. The day was gorgeous, and the run was fun. A little hillier than I expected for Oak Brook, and the paths we ran on were pretty narrow, considering the number of runners. I fell into a great 1/2 marathon pace, and just kept running. I got my nutrition dead on, and was on pace for a 1:45 finish time. Then, around mile 6, my left foot started to really hurt. I tried to ignore it and run through it, because this happens from time to time. By mile 9, though, I had to stop running. I actually considered, for the first time EVER, dropping out of the race. My toes had cramped up so bad, and my foot hurt so bad, I didn't know how I would go 4 more miles. I knew I needed new shoes, but the fact that there is absolutely nothing left in the forefoot of my shoes tells me to get shoes before I run another mile. I did manage to walk for a few minutes to let the throbbing subside, then I began running again. I actually got my pace back to where it was, but the time I lost threw off my finish time a considerable amount. I finished at 1:53:04, not bad considering I stopped and walked, but I will probably get new shoes....this week. I have an 18 mile run this weekend, and I know I can't make it through on what I have. Plus, I'll get those new bad boys nice and broken in before the Chicago Marathon! Now, all I have to do is decide what to buy....go back to Nike or move on......I think I might actually move on.