Total Miles – 36.8
Runs 37-40
The week started off wrong. My Haglund’s deformity had me hurting, so much so, that on Monday morning I called my coach and prepped him for me not running for the foreseeable future. I called my doctor, whose office was closed. I called my insurance provider and spoke to a nurse. I was told, dude, you don’t need a referral. Find a podiatrist and go! So I did! I called around until I found someone that could see me that very day. He confirmed Haglunds, gave me a treatment plan, showed me what I could do for the plantar on the other foot and sent me home feeling much better! At least mentally. Monday was skipped!
Run 37 – A Tuesday run, since my Monday was shot! First time running knowing that I had this condition. I have had it for a while, first time it affects my running. Smart man that I am :sarcasm:, this was my first run with the Hoka One One Gaviota 2. (That was not a typo, that is the actual name of the brand, Hoka One One). I did the loop I have been doing. I started the run at an easy pace as indicated. I also went from side to side on the road. Crossing the street over and over again to change which foot had the most stress. If you look at the way roads are built, they are done so in a slope for drainage purposes. Crossing from side to side, kept the stress equal on both feet. (Crazy I know)
At around mile 4, I felt Haglund. I was still over 2 miles from the house. I dreaded having to stop. Thankfully it tugged at me a handful of times. Threatening to bring my run to stop, but never fully doing so.
Run 38 – Back to the Treadmill. The snow is killing me! This was for the best I guess, since I had speed.
The recipe was a 22 minute warmup, 4 rounds of 8 minute pace for a mile with a 2 min jog for rest purposes, capping it off with 10 minutes cool down. I keep saying that the mind is a powerful thing. The 22 minute warm up was normal. My mind was already making excuses as to why I was not going to be able to run 4 sets of 1 mile at an 8 minute pace.
Round 1 – Normal, 8 minute pace is 7.5 mph on the treadmill. Not awful, but for a whole mile, it’s definitely felt. That’s like 10k pace for me.
Round 2 – Normal at the beginning. Towards the end it was a struggle. I started feeling phantom twitches in my Haglunds. I started thinking, why I am pushing. I started thinking about the excuse I would tell my coach.
Round 3 – I was defeated before I started. I changed to Hamilton for music. “Satisfied” got me through this round. “He will never be satisfied, I will never be satisfied”. The jog for resting lasted 3 minutes this time.
Round 4 – I had already planned, in those previous 3 minutes to call it quits. I was going to tell Javier that my foot hurt and I could not keep going. I then remembered that we agreed I would still finish, just at an easy pace. So I said FUCK IT. Just run it! I started with my favorite Hamilton song, “Wait For It”! Then I pushed it and finish with “Non-Stop”!
The cool down, had me with Jefferson getting back from France and the run was done. Thank you Hamilton for getting me through this insane run!
Run 39 – Easy Run and more snow! Back on the treadmill. I won’t write much about this, except to say it was my second run with Gaviota 2’s. It was on the Treadmill. I did half the run listening to Fake Doctors Real Friends, the second half with Hamilton. Even then, the run felt interminable. The max on the treadmills at the gym is 60 minutes. That is a ploy, not to limit people’s time on the treadmill, but to keep their sanity.
Run 40 – Longest long since 2019. It has been snowing the last two days, so I cannot run in my neighborhood, so hooray for no massive hills. Again, Martha needs to do 8 miles, so I figured out a way to do it together. We parked by her house and ran to Central Park. That’s 1 mile. A loop around Central Park, that’s 6 miles. During this loop we stayed together the first mile or so, after that Martha was always ahead of me. So I spent my time looking at her booty as she headed further and further away, slowing down when she noticed how far back I was, or when she needed water/gels.
At mile 7, we said goodbye, she had a mile left to get to her house. I was doing another half loop around Central Park and had 9/10 miles left. I did not know exactly the route I was going to take. I just knew that I would head down and exit the park at Columbus Circle (59th and 8th) and zig zag my way over to the west side, to finish the run along the Hudson River. Since I did not plan any of this, I did not know how far down I should be going. I figured maybe 42nd Street, yet around 48th, I decided to turn in fears that I would have to walk too much at the end to get to Martha’s house. Trust your first instincts people!
My pace dropped after exiting the park. From a stable 9:15/30 to a 9:50/10:10. I will attribute this to two things. Running alone and running on the roads. It’s very different to be in Central Park to constantly having to stop and start in the city. Also, having someone along you, or in my case in front of you as motivation!
The trek up the West Side was great, it did have one caveat. I know it too well, so I know exactly how much is left at any given time. It plays with your head. I also, did not listen to myself and had to over shoot Martha’s exit and keep going on the west side for a bit to add more time. This also, plays with your head. To finish it all up, the massive hills going from the West Side to Amsterdam were my end. My speed drop to a 12 minute pace going up what felt like Everest to my tired legs and debating mind. Yet I was able to finish. My Haglund’s deformity is inflamed and I am currently icing it. We will see how it holds up.
I bought another pair of Brooks Adrenaline! These will likely be the shoes I run the Marathon in. We shall see how they feel when they arrive! Bring on Week 11. Almost there people!
