I am pretty certain that my new DS Trainer 14's are trying to kill me. You know how like in those campy horror movies from the 80's where an inanimate doll or car would look peaceful to most people, but when no one else was around they were always trying to kill their owner. Yeah kind of like that, but in a more sinister way...by crippling my knees. Remember how last week I wore my new shoes for the first time on a long run, and said they felt good. Well I spoke too soon. On Monday and Tuesday my legs right below my knees were very sore. They were feeling better on Wednesday when I wore my 14's again on an 11 miler, and that was the first time they really hurt during a run. Anyways, I am going to try to use them some more but only on short runs, and I threw a pair of moldable insoles into them so hopefully that will help. The DS Trainer 14's are supposed to be more supportive than the 13's, so maybe that is the problem. Which would be nice because I would like to be a more neutral runner.
Like I said last week we have started school once again. I am hoping to get out of teaching my lab on Wednesday nights because that is when I usually do a medium length run. This past week I was in lab until 5:30p and then ran 10.5 miles after, which was awful because I didn't get home until around 8p to eat dinner. So either I have to switch medium run days or change my teaching schedule. Also, trying to run 10.5 miles near USC is a challenge. I ran multiple loops around exposition park, and it was much more difficult mentally than doing a 20+ miler. I think people looking to prepare themselves mentally for a marathon, should find a 2 mile circuit somewhere uninteresting and just run that for like 12-14. That would be much better preparation than 20 miles along the beach, mentally that is....
I seemed to have gained a little weight this week, which concerns me. I was near my ideal weight, but the last week I picked up about 2-3 pounds. Don't really know why. I think I have been shoveling more cereal and fruit in my bowl for breakfast, and snacking a bit too much post dinner. I'll keep an eye on it and get it sorted out.
Training this week went just ok. The knee pain was uncomfortable, but it didn't impact my training too much. Tempo work on Friday went very well, ran 7 miles at 6:50. This is 5 seconds faster than my training suggests, and I wasn't pushing too hard. Though the last mile was a little difficult.
Last weeks training:
Tuesday - 6.02 Mile Easy Run w/ Strides - 48:48 min, 8:06 pace
Wednesday - 10.49 Mile Easy Run - 1:26:16 min, 8:13 pace
Thursday - 4.04 Mile Recovery Run - 35:02 min, 8:40 pace
Friday - 9.04 Mile Run w/ Tempo - 1:04:43 min, 7:09 pace, 1 mile warmup and cool down, 7 miles @ 6:50 pace
Sunday - 15.10 Mile Long Run w/ Fast Finish - 1:58:17 min, 7:49 pace - 10 Miles Easy, 5 Miles @ 7:11 pace
Shoe Mileage:
Asics DS Trainer 13.1 - 328.05
Asics DS Trainer 13.2 - 55.95
Asics Gel Bandito - 25.18
Asics DS Trainer 14.1 - 30.32
Weight - 133.4 w/ 8.5 - 8.9 % body fat (inconsistent readings)
