March 28th, 2009 Base Builder 3

Yes, another base builder run.  This one was much like the first.  The only real exception was this one was run wearing my new shoes.  Oh, these new shoes are light!  They weigh much less than the Mizuno shoes did.  The run started out really well.  I had managed to run more than 2 miles well above my race pace and things were flying along.

In total, 8.3 miles for an 8:26 pace burning 833 calories.  Much like the run on the 24th, there really wasn’t any burning up the course, though I really wished it hadn’t happened.  After having my shoes too tightly laced for the run yesterday, I had them too loosely laced for the run today.  I now have dime sized blisters on both arches that will likely now affect the race.  I’ll have to see as I taper next week.  I do know it means Sunday won’t be a running day as I try to give them the chance to actually heal enough that I won’t notice the blisters.  I really thought I’d gotten beyond this hurdle, and I am hoping it isn’t the Asics shoes.  I’ll see.

The run was one I like to call a chaser.  Only because in my evil mind, it chases away anyone that starts to run next to me.  Why you may ask?  Only because I am running speeds few at the gym will attempt on a treadmill and then I’m also running for significantly longer than most do at the gym as well.  I take a sick sense of pride in watching someone get onto a treadmill next to me only to leave before I’m done.  This one was even more satisfying, because a guy came up to the one next to me and then his ego started trying to write a check his body could not cash.  He set his pace in between my zone 2 and zone 3 pace, though he had no incline set while I run at a 2% incline at all time, and proceeded to look over at me as I sped up and slowed down.  He kept an eagle eye on my display, and internally I just giggled.  He couldn’t hang, wound up having to slow down well below my zone 2 pace of 8 minute miles and then got off the treadmill at 20 minutes, while I’d been running 20 before he got on and showed no signs of slowing.

Oh but that damned blister!  I can feel the sting in my foot.  I know it’s going to be bad.  I just hope it doesn’t tear inside my sock until I can get home to work on it.  It was quite a distraction and what started out an awesome run had dropped into focusing on how badly my left foot was hurting, how my right foot had started stinging, and whether or not it would impact the race one week from today.  DAMNIT!

Cheers!