New Shoes! For A 12 Mile Run

 With only a week away for my Half Marathon,  I started to notice my foot pain returning.   Plantar Fasciitis is the name of the condition.  And in my case, it has always been caused from Bad Shoes! 

Now I know what you are thinking:   Sounds a lot like Planter Flatulence!   (Is that really a thing?)  I guess it could be because peanuts are more closely related to beans or something....  Well, as much as I enjoy peanuts;  they have never caused me any gastric intestinal issues.  (That I know of....)   Or Foot problems!

Anyway,   I decided that  I had better buy these new shoes and break them in before the race.  "Nothing New on Race Day!"   Is the motto.  So I went out,  tried several pairs at the shoe store, and came home with  the Saucony Guide 17 running shoe.   A 6 mm drop.   Wide toe box.  And blue in color.     They will replace my  Endomorphine Speed 4 Shoes.  (Which should have been called:  The "End of Morphine" for the pain they caused.)   

Today was their first test run. 

Check out the uneven wear on the heal!

Since it was a fairly cool day, I was only planning on taking the guide 17s out for a short, slow 6 mile run.   But as the miles passed by... And the air remained cool....  And I was getting warmed up....  And my feet did not reflect the same pain levels as yesterday...   I decided to make it a long run day.  

Usually,  I would have already had my long run in and now would begin the "Tapering" phase of training.   But since my training has been so sporatic,  I figured I had better squeeze this long run in now and that would give me a full week to recover if it goes badly.   

12.25 miles later....   I completed the long training run and am now spending the rest of the day recovering in this chair.   How would I describe the feeling of completing a 12.25 mile long run?   

PAIN!   OR painful!   Painfulness?   

Whatever the word is..   It is obvious I have not run this distance as all this year.    And my body screams!   (Mostly the legs...)   But the feet feel pretty good compared to yesterday.   So I would say that the shoes are a success.  

I guess I could throw in the feeling of accomplishment.... For completing an unplanned long run.   But honestly,  the Pain is trumping any euphoria.  Which is fine.   Pain is a way of telling me that I actually did something difficult today.  And I have nothing else that is pressing for me.   So... Recovery it is!   With zero guilt!

And that is all.   An easy day.  A HARD day.   And I like my new shoes.   And after completing 12 miles today, I have new found confidence that I can complete 13.1 miles without looking like an untrained loser.  ( But maybe a poorly trained runner... which is slightly more acceptable)  I have five more days of possible training so I shall see how much of it I can muster.   It should be an easier week now, because I should be slowly decreasing my running so I don't cause an injury.   Either way,   I will try to make every second count.