Training - Week 3

First let me say that I am feeling much better this week. I have continued to take it a little easy but have been able to start running again. For the previous two weeks I was barely able to jog for five minutes even though I had given my legs plenty of rest which has not happened to me before. I have had my share of aches and pains but none of them seemed to last this long without getting better. After looking back at any changes that I have made to understand what the difference might be, the only thing that comes to mind is the fact that I just picked up a new pair of shoes.

I have been told by a few different running stores that my ankles role out when I run so for the last year I have run in Nike Structure Triax which are somewhat stiff and more supportive to prevent pronation. This time around I went through the inspection by the salesman which included having me stand on a sensored mat to analyze my arch as well as a short jog on a treadmill which was recorded and my strides were then played back and reviewed. The results were that I didn't pronate but I was actually a farely neutral runner. (I did learn that I am apparently bowlegged which gives the "illusion" that I am pronating) After seeing it with my own eyes, I followed the salesman's advice and went with a pair of Asics Nimbus which is a neutral shoe with much more cushion. They felt comfortable on my feet but after about 20 miles in them I started having the troubles with my legs. I have already admitted that I over trained and the soreness was unavoidable because of that but I couldn't understand why they were not feeling better even after rest. So this past week I went back to the old shoe just to see what would happen. I don't know if it is all mental or not, but as I said earlier, I am feeling much better. I was able to run for twenty minutes on Thursday pain free and I ran three miles yesterday. Today I got on the bike for 45 minutes and did some spinning to get my heart rate up and keep my legs loose. The great news is that the Asics had a 60 day money back guarantee so I can exchange them for a more supportive pair if my legs continue to improve in my old shoes.

So this coming week as I work my way back up to speed I have a rest day tomorrow. Tuesday through Thursday are 3 miles each, Friday is a rest day, Saturday is 7 miles and Sunday will be a cross training day. I am excited to get back at it but know I need to be careful so that I don't over do it again. Now if I could just do something about the five degree temperature and the ice on the ground so that I can go outside and use my new Garmin 405 I will be all set. The treadmill gets a little old but I am happy to be running again!!

-bgw