Face the Change
I made my plans for the year, changed them after some nagging injuries, changed them again when I started building back up, changed them again when the kids said they wanted to run an event, then changed them again when the kids switched their focus to swimming. I think the spinning wheel of change has come to a stop. Yesterday I plopped down the money to run the Indianapolis Monumental Half-Marathon, so there is no turning back. Since the event is this coming Saturday, that shouldn't be an issue.
I've gone through a number of other changes in my running lately, so I'm not sure what to expect from the race. For starters, while I was dealing with the injuries, the run-net community was full of discussion around Christopher McDougall's book "Born to Run" and barefoot running in general. With all of the excitement, and looking for anything that would get me back on the roads, I came very close to heading out the door sans shoes, but could never quite do it. I did get some new shoes, and switched from the Asics Gel-Landreth 5, a neutral cushioned shoe, to the Mizuno Wave Elixir 4, a lightweight trainer. I've always been a fairly efficient mid-foot striker so I thought the transition would be straight forward, but while my previous annoying pains have gone away, they've been replaced with new soreness in my calves that is obviously from adjusting to the new shoe geometry.
While I've been increasing my base mileage over the last few months, I've begun to work in some speed work. I've done fartleks, timed repeats, race pace runs...all things I haven't done since I was in high school. I'm getting to the point where faster feels more comfortable, but I still don't think I really made big changes in my output. I know that I will, but need more time for the effect to really show.
Bottom line is that things have changed a lot from what I planned them to be this year, but have morphed into a greater plan. However, while I am hopeful for this weekend, I'm sure my training is not up for a great result and maybe not even a good result. It's really being difficult setting my expectation so I can have a positive outcome, which in the end is what I am really hoping for.
Artist for Song in Title: INXS
I've gone through a number of other changes in my running lately, so I'm not sure what to expect from the race. For starters, while I was dealing with the injuries, the run-net community was full of discussion around Christopher McDougall's book "Born to Run" and barefoot running in general. With all of the excitement, and looking for anything that would get me back on the roads, I came very close to heading out the door sans shoes, but could never quite do it. I did get some new shoes, and switched from the Asics Gel-Landreth 5, a neutral cushioned shoe, to the Mizuno Wave Elixir 4, a lightweight trainer. I've always been a fairly efficient mid-foot striker so I thought the transition would be straight forward, but while my previous annoying pains have gone away, they've been replaced with new soreness in my calves that is obviously from adjusting to the new shoe geometry.
While I've been increasing my base mileage over the last few months, I've begun to work in some speed work. I've done fartleks, timed repeats, race pace runs...all things I haven't done since I was in high school. I'm getting to the point where faster feels more comfortable, but I still don't think I really made big changes in my output. I know that I will, but need more time for the effect to really show.
Bottom line is that things have changed a lot from what I planned them to be this year, but have morphed into a greater plan. However, while I am hopeful for this weekend, I'm sure my training is not up for a great result and maybe not even a good result. It's really being difficult setting my expectation so I can have a positive outcome, which in the end is what I am really hoping for.
Artist for Song in Title: INXS
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