I had gotten to the halfway mark. In races like these, those running the half marathon portion (which always seems to be most of the pack) leaving the few, the proud, the rest of the sparse number of runners who will run an additional 13.1 miles. I experienced that at the St. Louis, Lincoln, Neb., and Rockford marathons -- it's like, where the hell did everyone go??? Sure enough, in my dream, it had cleared out -- as in, there were no other runners anywhere and I wondered if I was even on the course anymore.
I ran back to the halfway mark and asked a race volunteer where the rest of the course was and he said oh, this is only a half marathon. I was like, um, I registered for a full and you took my money... and he said, this course isn't blah-blah-blah certified for a full marathon. I was so mad, I thought, wait till I write a blog post about this. (I really thought this in my dream, I'm not making this up.)
When I woke up early to do the last of my vacation runs in lovely South Haven, Mich., I remembered my dream as I was tying my shoe, and had to chuckle. Oh, you're doing Omaha, baby, the full marathon, in September.
Fortunately, as I've moved up to more than 30 miles a week, things are good. I've still been going to the physical therapist, who at the last visit asked me about my running shoes.
I'm sure I'm not the only runner who gets fitted for a shoe and then just replaces the same style over and over for the next several years. I also had an orthotic from way back that I wasn't sure I still needed, but figured it was working for me and I shouldn't mess with it. Well, at least, it used to work for me.
Physical therapy has helped to strengthen my core but some niggles weren't just going away, so I followed my PT's advice and got refitted for shoes. I hadn't done that since before my 2-year-old daughter was born.
After a visit to the local running store and a fitting with video analysis of my ankles in numerous shoes on a treadmill, I went from a heavy orthotic and the Brooks Ravenna, which combined give a ton of stability to the ankle, I'm told, to the Mizuno Rider 16. The Universal Sole shoe store guy said I was probably getting "over-corrected" with too much support or something like that.
Well, I just did my fourth run in these shoes this morning. What a difference. I feel so much better in them! Which gives me more confidence for this fall.
BTW, a friend noted on Facebook these exact shoes were worn by a state senator during a Texas legislative filibuster. Running chicks unite!
I just started wearing the Brooks Ravenna. After the Running Room analyzed my stride, the guy decided I need more stability because I pronate, so that's what he recommended. Now, I'm only running 4 miles a day, so I don't need something super light and speedy, but what do you think? How long did you wear the Ravenna, and do you think it was a good choice?
ReplyDeleteI wore them for a few years with orthotics. Last spring I started having ankle issues and did physical therapy. The therapist recommended I get refitted because she thought maybe I got too much stability from my shoe. Since I hadn't been fitted in a few years and had had a baby in the interim, I followed the advice.
ReplyDeleteI went to a reputable running store and left with a cushion shoe that wasn't as big on the stability as Ravenna and have been very happy with my new Mizunos. How do the Ravennas feel? That's more important than how many miles you run at a time. If you like 'em, keep them. I definitely liked them when I had them.