Long Run + New England Humidity = A True Challenge

Today was possibly the hottest, most humid day of the year so far. And, of course, the day of our 12-mile long run. It was also a holiday weekend, which meant we were all pretty much on our own to get in the mileage any way we could.

I have gotten really used to completing our long runs with the team and not really running the longer distances on my own, so all of these things were really daunting for me. But I tried not to let it stop me.

I am so lucky to have the team that I have! I found 3 other runners (Leslie, Rocco, and Carolann) that were not going out of town for the holiday, so I coordinated for us all to meet up at DW Fields Park for an earlier long run (thanks to Carolann's suggestion, a 7am run instead of 8am would help us beat some of the heat). My parents also generously agreed to set up a water stop for us at the beginning of the 3.8-mile loop so we could stop for water 3 times during the course.

Me, Carolann, Rocco, and Leslie before our 12-mile long run in the heat!

We've run some shorter runs on that loop, so we were all already familiar with it. It was just a matter of cranking out the mileage.

So, this morning I packed the water, Gatorade, and ice, and headed out to Brockton with the picnic cooler where I met up with my parents and the rest of the runners. I was actually super energetic and in high spirits, which got me off on the right foot.

Leslie and I ran the first loop or two together, and then I pulled ahead on the last lap. I'm pretty good at maintaining my pace for longer mileage, which I think will give me a great advantage on race day ;)

Having my parents there to man the water stop was AWESOME. We definitely wouldn't have made it through all 3 laps without them. I owe them so much for my success this season, and this was just the icing on the cake! There were just sitting out in the sun/shade, reading books and waiting for us to come around to pour refreshments. And they were offering a ton of encouragement :)

It was ridiculously humid, and I was finding it hard to breathe at points. But it was encouraging knowing that the weather in Napa on race day will be really dry and probably a bit cooler. It's like we always say at Team Challenge New England, we train in all conditions so that we're ready for anything!

Sweaty and exhausted, Leslie and I finished our 11.4 miles, and Rocco and Carolann finished 10. We were also joined briefly by Marisa and Amanda who did a loop before throwing in the towel - it was seriously so hot out! It really is the thought of that beautiful run in Napa that kept me going today. That and the encouragement from my mentor, Leslie, who has so much faith in me and would never let me give up. I am so ready for you, Napa!

Sweaty and exhausted, but we finished!

The one downside to today was the pavement. Like I said, we've run this loop before, but only with shorter distances. About halfway through today's run I started getting ankle pain on my right foot. I thought it was just from lack of stretching, so I stopped a few times to to some ankle rolls and calf stretches. Nothing really helped, but I made it to the end in one piece.

It's been a couple hours since I've been home and I did some reading. It turns out that the pain I have in my Achilles tendon is from running too long on uneven ground. Much of the loop at DW Fields Park is uneven or slanted pavement, so the repeated pounding without evening it out on the other side really took a toll on my leg. We're not built to run at an angle, that's for sure! And we were even debating running the last lap in reverse so that we would have a change of scenery, but decided against it at the last minute. What was I thinking?

So 2 weeks out from the big day and I have to take a few days off to rest my ankle, roll it, and stretch it. I'm hoping for a quick recovery so I can get in my last few days of hard mileage before the taper week. I'm really hoping not just to finish my first half marathon, but to set a really good PR. If I could finish in less than 2:30 I would be really happy.

All I have to do now is take care of myself and hopefully the rest will follow.

15 Days and counting!
ashley

Injury?

On Wednesday afternoon I was at work - just walking around - when all of a sudden I got a sharp pain up the center of my right ankle. I haven't been able to walk on it for a few days, but this morning I woke up and it was totally fine. Friday was a snow day, so I kept off it and had it elevated, but Thursday and Saturday I had to work in the warehouse so was walking around on it most of the day. I had this weird limp going on because I couldn't step flat on my foot without pain, so I was keeping the weight on the outside or inside of the foot. But this morning it was totally fine, and I even ran 3.6 miles today. So I don't know what's wrong with it. I'm gong to call my doctor first thing in the morning to see if I can get an appointment for Monday or Tuesday. Because even though it's fine, I don't want it to actually be something more serious and then take me out completely in the middle of training for the most important race of my life so far.

I think it was caused by a combination of things. I haven't been running regularly since the first snowstorm in January, and then I did two weeks of running 3-4 times per week. So it may just be my feet getting used to pounding the pavement again. But also, I've been wearing shoes that are not so great for my feet. I have a pair of black heel boots, black flats, flat MacBeth sneakers, and moccasin slippers that are all pretty flat arch-wise that I've been wearing around, so maybe two straight weeks of wearing sneakers with ultra-supportive arches are what did me in? Either way, I will post an update once I've had a chance to talk to the doctor. Here's hoping for 13.1!

ashley