Time to fly?

Wednesday after work I went up to the loft and did 45 minutes on the treadmill in a pair of trail shoes. Questionable, yes... but I couldn't think of any other solution. Running in the dark across the beach banks doesn't fill me with much enthusiasm. I think I'd be a little scared of some weirdo being around. The run went well on an 8:4 run/walk, and by the end I had averaged a 10.29mm pace. Not bad considering I walked a third of it. The bad news is, my trail shoes made both of my feet feel numb and totally squished. It turns out after running in shoes half a size bigger for the last 6(ish) weeks, I find my favourite trail shoes to be now too small. One thing is for certain, I'm no hoarder, never have been, but I will be keeping these shoes forever. They are still covered in the uncleanable red dirt from Bangalore and they are the shoes I did my first ultra in. I will always keep them!

My work week has been so hectic that I didn't even get to the spa on Thursday, although my new Hoka One Ones came. I tried them on with my running socks and orthotics and felt like I was walking on air. I was impatient to see if they felt the same while running, so ran for 1 mile on the treadmill (with no walk break, which I think is a first for me this year!!!). I thought they were fab, but I find I can't really judge properly after 1 run, so worried if they would finally be the right shoes for me.

On Friday morning I emailed William and Shaun and asked them about the trainers and my thoughts on cutting my Saturday run short (just to test them out). Later in the day, after a 30 minute walk in them I emailed again to say maybe a loop would be in order, and if I couldn't do the full 2 hours 15 minute run, then I'd cut it short but then could have the possibility of carrying on if all went well. William agreed with this, and also said he would have recommended the Hokas for me anyway and he was glad I'd already found them. Apparently he has a pair too, so I'm in good company. He asked about my targets for next year so I told him about the 3 races I have booked and said I wanted to do something fab at the end of 2013 but I didn't actually know what that would be yet as I'd have to wait and see how much faster and how more competent I would be by then. I'd like to think I'll have come on leaps and bounds by this time next year but I'm past taking things like that for granted. After all, you never know what spanner can be put in the works!

So, this morning I got up after a bit of a rough night. My stomach was very dodgey and part of me wondered if it was nerves about running. After all, if todays' run was marred by my trainers then it would be back to the drawing board. What would I do then?
I took 4 immodium tablets over the 2 hours before the run but my stomach gurgled something terrible. I decided to ignore it. I had 2 slices of toast with Marmite for breakfast and made almond butter sandwiches for my run. I decided to give them another try after they made me feel a bit sick last week.
The first 8 minute run was great, despite going up a really steep bank. I chose a 4.5 mile loop which is easily as challenging as last weeks route, however there are more ups and downs in succession rather than a difficult first half and an easier second. My feet felt very secure and supported as well as extremely well cushioned. I had trussed them up as though I was wearing new orthotics at a very long race. I wore gel toe caps, sportslick and compeed plasters and I genuinely felt like I was running in the most comfortable shoes ever. When it came to the downhills I felt like I was flying and looked down at my Garmin to see 8mm or thereabouts on more than one occassion. Not fast for some, but very speedy for me!

The second loop wasn't quite so good. At the top of the steep hill I was unable to get over the crest without a 20 or 30 second negative walk break. The rest was done as it should be, but my legs felt like lead for the whole loop... even on the downhills! As I reached the end of the loop, I chose to run along a more flat route for the last 45 minutes. I was absolutely knackered, and I instantly realised it was a food issue. The last 2 weeks I have had very spicy food the night before my long run and I think that is what has upset my stomach on both weeks. When I am lethargic, I'm now at the point where I think about what I've eaten and think about changing it. Last week I naturally assumed it was after a heavy week of training, but that hasn't been the case this week. No more spicy food on a Friday night for me!

I ate a couple of the almond butter sandwiches and hated the consistency of them while running. The almond butter stuck to the roof of my mouth and quite frankly tasted minging. Oh well, at least I now know for certain! The last 45 minutes was horrible. I was just shattered. The last full 8 minute run I got a bit of an ache in my arch and big toe and so ran/walked on a negative basis while trying to ease it. It did work though, so maybe not too much of a negative walk in that sense!

I got to 10.8 miles 4 and a half minutes quicker than the long run last week and overall managed 17 seconds a mile faster than that run, so I'm very happy. I was shattered, but I gave it everything so am pleased with how hard I had worked. And more importantly, I think I love my Hokas!