Greetings from Sacramento! After catching my flight at an ungodly hour (7am!), I finally made it home. Considering I've been up since 5:30am and can barely keep my eyes open, I'm going to try and make this quick.
After picking me up from the airport my parents and I grabbed some breakfast then headed to Fleet Feet for packet pick-up. All participants were given a coupon for $10 off, so I figured I would go ahead and replace my shoes with a fresh pair. Now while I'm definitely moving toward a minimalist/barefoot approach to running, these shoes did work well for me (Brooks Adrenaline GTS 10) so I'm going with the motto "if it ain't broke don't fix it." Until I can devote the time to practicing barefoot/minimalist running I'm going to be wearing shoes, and my current pair were way past their prime (2 marathons + the training, a half, 10 miler, etc.). Fleet Feet ended up being out of my size though, so I ordered them and they should be sent to me in the next week or so. Since I was there, I couldn't resist buying some new shorts. I was torn between 2 colors of the Nike pacer shorts, so I caved and just bought both! I now own Nike shorts in just about every shade of blue there is, haha!
My dad has been running a lot lately, and he wanted to run one of his routes with my Garmin to get an exact mileage. I agreed to do it as long as we kept it easy, so I skipped my run yesterday instead. My shins have flared up pretty bad again, so I was a little nervous, but I figure they're probably going to hurt during the race anyway, so what the hell. We actually ran part of the race course along the American River across from our house which got me a little excited for tomorrow since it was so beautiful and green! On the downside, my shins did hurt despite the easy pace, and the wind was so outrageous that you could literally see all the crap blowing around in the air which spelled disaster for my allergies. I noticed a difference in my breathing, but I'm going to take some allergy meds in the morning so hopefully it won't be a problem for the race. I also felt more lethargic than usual, but I'm blaming that on my lack of sleep last night and the early morning today - I've been exhausted all day! It was still a lot of fun running with my dad, so I don't regret it at all.
Finally, on to my goals for tomorrow's half marathon. Originally, I really wanted to PR on this course. Training-wise, I know I could do it. My pace has been getting faster over the last couple months, and I know I could shave at least a couple minutes off my current PR (2:17:50). That being said, I have to reconsider, taking into account my shin splints. I'm still going to start out aiming to beat my time, but I am also going to listen to my body. If I can, I want to push it. But if the pain in my legs gets bad, I'm ok with pulling back. Now that's all well and good, but maybe you want specifics?
A goal: 2:10
B goal: 2:15
C goal: 2:20-2:25
My "A goal" is a stretch. With my current situation, I really doubt this is gonna happen, but you gotta dream big, right? My "B goal" is more realistic in terms of a PR. This will be the pace I set on my Garmin. My "C goal" is somewhat safe but is still challenging enough that I wouldn't feel like I took it too easy. But again, this half is replacing a long training run for me, so when it comes down to it, I have to look at the bigger picture: Rock 'n' Roll San Diego in June. Ok, now I'm (finally) off to bed! Wish me luck!
I hope your half marathon went good! I was going to give you some advice but I realized that you've already raced lol I was just going to say to just listen to what your bodies telling you.. Thats the best way to accomplish any sort of mileage when your hurting.. At least thats what I tell myself when my shin splints flare up! I'm sure you rocked it though!!
ReplyDelete