September 05, 2013

Lesson learned

What a crappy run this morning! I was expecting it to be great, because the temp was about 60 degrees outside. I had nine miles at marathon pace (8:58/mi) on the schedule. The past few weeks, I've done the marathon pace runs on the treadmill, but because it was so nice out today, and the boys had school, I decided to run it outside.

As soon as I started running, I felt okay, and my pace was a little faster than my goal, which was fine. Then about a half-mile into the run, a particular spot on my foot started to ache. The only time this part of my foot hurts is when my shoes have too many miles on them. Most resources will tell you to change shoes after 400 miles or so, but I've found that I have to change them at about 325-350 miles.

I bought a new pair of shoes about a month ago just to have on hand for when I reached the point of needing them, and I set them next to my dresser, where they've been ever since. This week, I started to notice that little achy feeling in my foot a couple of times during a run, but I thought, "I'm going to see if I can ride these out for 400 miles..." (Yes, I know, I'm a certified running coach for God's sake! I should know better!)

Anyway, about half a mile into my run today, I started feeling that ache on the side of my foot, and I made a mental note to swap out my shoes when I got home. But then I started wondering if I could even wait that long; the pain was getting pretty bad. I hit my target pace for the first mile, but my feet were hurting, and I decided to just forget the pace and focus on finishing.

By the time I got to mile two, I was practically hobbling. I decided to turn around and go straight back home to change out my shoes. For a minute, I even considered taking my shoes off and walking home barefoot, but the road isn't exactly barefoot-friendly.

The pain traveled up above my ankle, to the tendon on the outside of my leg. I was so glad to finally get home. I took off my shoes, and saw that I had a big knot on my leg where my tendon was feeling irritated. Instead of switching shoes, I decided to call it a day and just rest. As soon as I took my shoes off, I felt relief. I even tried on my new shoes, just to feel the difference, and it's kind of amazing at how different they felt! I've worn Brooks Adrenalines ever since I started running, and you don't really feel them breaking down but it's a big difference when you put on a new pair!

The one on the left is brand new; on the right has 385 miles.
So my lesson learned is that 50 miles makes a HUGE difference on a pair of shoes, and next time, I will change them as soon as I hit 350 miles.

Tomorrow is a six-mile run at easy pace. If the swelling is gone and I feel back to normal, I may try to do my marathon pace run tomorrow; otherwise, I'll just stick to the schedule for tomorrow. I sat with my feet up and I iced the swelling over my tendon, and it's feeling much better now. I'm really glad I turned around when I did, rather than trying to finish out the whole run (because I'm stubborn like that).

I got some groceries at Kroger today, and I saw that they had Justin's Nut Butters on sale for Buy 1 Get 1 Free... the best sale ever! I usually stock up when they have this sale (only a couple times a year). I bought four jars of my favorite, the Maple Almond Butter. This afternoon, I opened a jar of it to have with some carrots for a snack, and was surprised to see how liquidy it was. I've bought it dozens of times before, and it's never looked like that.

When I tasted it, it tasted like straight-up oil. Gross! Then I opened a second jar, and it was normal (yummy!). I'm not sure what the issue was with the first jar, but I wrote Justin's an e-mail about it, so I'm curious what they say. You can see the difference between the two in this pic:

On the left is obviously from the liquidy jar, and on the right is the normal jar.

I like Justin's Maple Almond Butter almost as much as I like peanut butter. I haven't had peanut butter in over eight weeks now! It's been really difficult at times, but I'm determined to make it until the marathon. I can't wait to get my new set of dishes! ;)

11 comments:

  1. Hi, just wondering how you keep track of the milage on your sneakers so accurately?

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    1. There is a tracker on the website I use for keeping track of my running mileage (www.runningahead.com). When I upload my runs from my Garmin, I can choose which shoes I wore, and it automatically keeps track of how many miles are on those shoes :) I don't wear my running shoes for anything except running, so it's very accurate!

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  2. It is great that you listened to your gut and went back! I have been listening to my gut, but unfortunately it has been saying to go back to the fridge. I am trying to get back to running and losing weight and I love reading your blog because it helps me know it is possible! Thank you for sharing your journey with us! Http://whatcanhappen1year.blogspot.com

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  3. I've been wearing Brooks Adrenaline since I started running too and I agree you can't really feel them fading but once you get a new pair on you can tell the difference! Love those shoes!!

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  4. Good call on the shoes, Katie! I was wondering if maybe you could do a post about some of your meals on typical days/tracking the PP. I just started WW online (inspired by you) and I'm still getting the hang of it. I know one of the taglines to the program is that you don't have to give up the foods you love, but do you ever feel like it's easy to still eat the "bad" foods too? Also, when you have a fun night out that involves drinking (like your Winers meetings) do you keep track of every drink? I am planning on using my Weekly PP to cover it, but I'm just curious how you stay "honest" while still having fun. Thanks and I love your blog!!

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  5. Haha, I love the part about being a running coach. Because, while I am not a running coach, I too know better! And my last pair I went about 125 miles over what I wanted. Around 400 miles my feet started to tell me I needed new shoes (and I had a pair ready to go) but I didn't swap them out until 525 miles after I came in hobbling on a run.

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  6. I'm stubborn when it comes to pain while running too! Just last night I had a pain in my side and was like "If I just breathe through it I can do this!" I did end up being OK but sometimes we really should do better to listen to our bodies!

    I've purchased "natural" nut butters before and have had that same issue! I hope they can resolve it for you or at least give you some coupons.

    FYI... I just started following you a little while ago and I LOVE your blog! Thank you for doing this so faithfully!

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  7. I have the same thing happen when my shoes need replacing. I will get this pain on the sides of my feet, and then my ankles get sore. I noticed lately my feet feel sore after I run, and normally they don't, and I've had my shoes quite a while, so I am getting new ones soon. My shoes never look worn out either, so I think it's true that they just get worn out, and I read that if you're heavier they wear out quicker. I have always used Brooks shoes, and the ghosts are the ones I have now. They are having a Brooks even tomorrow at a local running store, and I really want to go if my husband gets home from work early enough.

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  8. I'm glad you posted about this! I'm not a very experienced runner, so I wasn't sure how long shoes should last, but I changed out my last pair when my foot started to bug me on a run (while I was training for my first - and so far ONLY - half marathon). Now I guess I'll have to go back and figure out how far I've run since! ;)

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  9. Just had to go calculate how many miles I have on my shoes lol. I have a month or two to go on them left ;)

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  10. I have bought the Justin Maple Almond butter two times now and they both look really runny like yours. I thought it was how they came? I have just stuck them in the fridge to mix it up...So now I'm curious as to if I got bad jars of it too! :(

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