Day 52: Breaking up is hard with shoes.

As you may guess, sadly, the new shoes and I are not meant to run happily ever after.  While the additional motion control was exactly what I need, after five minutes my arches started cramping and felt bruised for the entire run (and still do).  About a mile into it, my calves and glutes started to feel like I'd been running up hills or stairs instead of the obscenely flat indoor track surface.  So I will be exchanging these shoes and starting over again.  Maybe the Mizunos; one reason I didn't go with those is that they felt almost exactly like my current shoes.  I'm thinking that was a mistake.  At least the store has a great return policy, and I will be getting a different salesperson this time. 

I've got to take this weekend off from work, because I am so tired -- mentally and physically -- all the time right now and something has to go so that I can catch my breath.  Work will be it this weekend, as I am going to the replacement ballet performance on Saturday (and now returning my shoes since I'll be downtown anyway) and then running a five mile race Sunday morning followed by an additional nine miles to complete my 14 mile long run.  Also in there will have to be grocery shopping, laundry, and much pooch-pacifying -- they're pretty pissed off that I'm gone all the time these days.  I'd also like to catch up on my DVR'd TV programs and maybe read a little.  Oh, and sleep.  A lot.

I've been toying with setting a goal for Sunday's Red Lizard 5-miler.  This was the second race I did last year (and ever).  My friend S did it with me, and she can't run because of bad knees so we walked nearly all of it.  My finishing time was 1:19:30.   I want to beat that for sure, but I also want to aim for closer to an hour as well.  This is actually a fairly challenging course with plenty of rollers plus one big one.  I believe I will set a goal for this race of 1:10.  This is what I did the Fanconi Anemia 8K in, and that course is much flatter than the Red Lizard course.  Consistency is the key!  Or the hobgoblin of small minds.  Hmmm.  Can't win with this one, can I?

I am also working on the issue of leg cramps overall, new shoes notwithstanding.  The most common causes of leg cramps when running are:  overtraining, dehydration, potassium and/or magnesium deficiency, and poor nutrition.  I don't think it's overtraining or poor nutrition, I think it's a combination of the other three.  With more stress I drink more caffeine and not as much water, so I'm chugging the clear stuff.  I usually have a banana a day during the week but lately that hasn't been happening.  Bananas are now on the agenda.  I've also been slacking off on taking a magnesium supplement in addition to whatever is in my multivitamin (should check that out).  Magnesium is now on the agenda as well.   Once I work out the shoe issue, we'll see if this makes a difference.

Speaking of food and water, it's lunch time!

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl