Training Run

Distance: 9 kilometers (5.52 miles)
Time: 45 minutes
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather Conditions: cool, overcast, 60s, morning run
Location: Miraflores, Lima, Peru

Comments: Oh, how much difference a new pair of shoes make. 

Started pretty early, did a double round of stretching to get limbered up better than yesterday. My hamstrings seem to be inordinately tight recently. 

Got out and started at a more brisk pace than I expected due to the shoes so I geared it back and tried to settle in. The one downside of the new Asics is I have gotten so used to battling through the old shoes that removing the problem throws me off a bit.

And I was a bit more tired than I expected throughout the run. I felt more like I was pushing it rather than in complete control. Which isn't to say it wasn't a good run, it was, but I still am a bit out of sorts for some reason.

Most importantly, after the run, no aches, no pain, no lagging soreness. Just happy feet.

The Ballad of the Missing Running Shoes

After almost six months of regular running it had become apparent in recent weeks that my shoes have gone about as far as they can take me.

I am way past the four months or six hundred miles whichever comes first cutoff and it really has become apparent. As I have started putting in 30-plus mile weeks my feet and lower legs have become the repository of different aches and pains after every run.

So, one weekend last month I went looking for some new shoes here in Lima. I didn't think it would be simple but I figured it would at least be possible. What I didn't contend with is that size 13 shoes do not exist in Peru. None. Nada.

The largest size running shoe I could find was a 10-and-a-half and don't even think about finding one with decent motion control like I require. So after visiting no less than a dozen different shoe stores over a two-day span it became clear. I was SOL.

Then I remembered that the awesome folks at Performance Footwear in Tempe, Arizona had a record of my last shoe purchase. Not just a record, the brand, the size and even the other shoes I tried out and liked as well.

So I got the phone number and rang them up to see if they thought buying a pair blind using my info was advisable. After a nice chat on the pluses and minuses, we agreed it was about the only option I had. So they put a pair of the shoes on layaway and my mom went and picked them up a few days later.

Now, instead of everything working fine from this point on as one might expect, this is where everything rolled up into a tight little ball of fubar.

The woman at the store suggested the shoes be mailed separately. Shoes are a common target for mail thieves and the postal service to Peru is not the best. I asked a few of my friends here about it and they agreed it was probably a good idea. So I told mom to use two packages and so she went to the mail store and they took care of it sending the packages a day apart.

Well, the first one showed up pretty quick, less than a week later. But it seems the Peruvian authorities were concerned it might contain all sorts of important and valuable stuff that is subject to taxing so they flagged it. Instead of a cardboard box, I recieved an official piece of paper saying I had to go down to their office.

So I did, expecting the worst and Lordy, I got it. It was a two-and-a-half hour bureaucratic hell. There were six service windows in the little office and I had to visit each of them at least twice not to mention a discussion with the office manager at one point. I signed my name no less than nine times and more than a dozen forms needed to be completed by either me or one of these paper pushers.

All that and, in the end, it was not even taxable.

Quick side note, my cousin mailed off a box of gels, drink powders and energy bars about this time. This package is arguably taxable since they could say I was trying to sell it due to the quantity of items. Anyhow, after one week a nice gentleman rings my doorbell and hands me the package. No problem.

So then I wait.

And I wait.

And I wait.

I passed the 10-12 business day mark last week which was the outer window for it to arrive and I still wait. I finally just assume the shoe did get stolen or the idiots in the post office misfiled it somewhere. I gird myself to get to know my good friend pain even better over the next few months.

But then, today, another guy came to my door. Not the nice delivery guy, no, this was a not-very-nice man with the piece of paper saying this package was also flagged by the customs people. And now I have to go back down to their office and endure another round of the bureaucratic nonsense to pick it up.

So I merrily saunter down there, once again, prepared for the worst. But this time, since it was completely ludicrous to go through this whole farce once again for one shoe, I wasn't going to simply go with the flow. Oh no.

The first time I got any static - it turned out they wanted me to go find a copy shop and make a photocopy of my identification this time - I went ballistic. Complete ugly American. I ranted. I raved. I waved papers. I mixed English curse words with choppy Spanish. The security guard even came over out of concern. I was a complete and total asshole.

Needless to say, after that I had no more problems. I went down the street and got the copy they wanted, came back and gave it to them and they got me out of there damn quick. Twenty minutes, total.

So, anyhow, now I have two new shoes to start running in. I am really hoping that the change, allied with the week off coming up takes care of my recent problems and I can get back to my normal training schedule.

Training Run

Distance: 5.5 kilometers (3.41 miles)
Time: 30 minutes (approx)
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather Conditions: cool, overcast, 60s, mid-morning run
Location: Miraflores, Lima, Peru

Comments: Horrible run. A complete disaster from start to finish. I really didn't feel into it from the beginning. I felt drained from the moment I woke up this morning and I knew it wasn't going to get any better during stretching which was an unpleasant chore.

But I got out the door and tried to focus and get a bit pumped for the run and I reached my usual starting point and... I forgot my watch. So I walked back home got the watch and started again.

I put in a good two kilometers when I stared to suspect that the early-run weirdness was not going to ease off today. I just could not get into a groove. So I resigned myself to cranking it out. I got to one of my landmarks to check my watch and... I forgot to start the chronometer.

At this point its a complete shambles. I just want to crank it out and get done. I set a geographic goal and just try and focus. But thats about the time the aches start. One in the side of my right foot and one in the left knee I felt for the first time yesterday.

I reached my turn around point and put in a few hundred meters more and threw in the towel. I simply was not going to make it work today and the knee pain was not letting up. I figured it better to pull back today and see if things improve any tomorrow.

Training Run

Distance: 8.9 kilometers (5.52 miles)
Time: 45 minutes
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather Conditions: cool, overcast, 60s, mid-morning run
Location: Miraflores, Lima, Peru

Comments: Another one I really didn't feel like doing but got out and did anyway. I stretched out beforehand but not a lot cause I didn't want to use it as an excuse to keep putting off the run.

The start was not pleasant but I hit a decent groove after the first ten or fifteen minutes and knew I could push my way through it. I didn't really feel like I had a heck of a lot of energy in my legs to that point even though I did feel like I had enough overall to make it through the run.Things went pretty smoothly after that so I felt pretty good about the effort when all was said and done. 

The bigger concern was the litany of aches and pains I got during the workout. At different times the outside of my right foot, the bottom of my left and - this is a new one - the top of my left knee all had their moments. After the run I was rewarded with a bouncing baby new blister on my left pinkie toe.

Training Run

Distance: 6 kilometers (3.72 miles)
Time: 30 minutes
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather Conditions: overcast, cool, 60s, mid morning run
Location: Miraflores, Lima, Peru

Comments: Not a pleasant one. I didn't feel like going out to do it and I felt tired all the way through it. That said, I believe I did pretty well considering. Even though I was dragging ass I could tell I had the strength in my legs to get through the thing.

And since I had a really strong long run yesterday I don't feel bad about this outing. I started with the quick pace I used on Saturday but I was clear I needed to pull back. So I did and cranked out a, in retrospect, decent recovery run. Now a well needed day off before my next three-day series.

No real aches or pains today, just the tapped out feeling. There was a slight soreness in the sides of both feet so I will probably hit 'em with the ice tonight just to be on the safe side.

Week Wrapup

Distance: 61.9 kilometers (32.17 miles)
Time: 4 hours 30 minutes

Comments: This was the first week of consecutive running days since I have started. It's a change that I have been concerned about due to the fact it bumps up mileage and cuts into recovery time pretty severely, an equation that can easily add up to injury.

And its clear the change is a tough one on my body. My feet have been struck with soreness at different points pretty much from the get-go. First the underside of my left foot at the fourth and fifth mandible were a problem and then the side of my right foot.

On the plus side, twice-a-day icing seems to have resolved the issue but I remain wary. What I really need is a new pair of running shoes but I have run into severe problems in that regard. More on that later...

Conditioning-wise, it has been a great week. I was able to put in all the workouts and do a damn good effort at them. A couple were not a hell of a lot of fun but none were simply beyond my ability to do. It's a good feeling after so long at simply building to get to the point where I crank out this level of workout.

One of the ironic downsides of training for a marathon is that, instead of being able to enjoy being in the best shape of your life, you spend most of your time worried about injury. Because the plain fact is, putting in the miles you need to prepare for the race are damn hard on the body - particularly if you aren't the sprightly whipper-snapper you once were.

"Running Injury Free" had been my guide to navigate this aspect of training. It has proven to be an immensely helpful book but, like a lot of running books, it relies on the anecdotal storytelling that can be irritating to wade through. Having an idea what the heck is causing all these different aches and pains helps put my mind a bit more at ease - which makes the training a hell of a lot easier.

Long Run

Distance: 16.5 kilometers (10.25 miles)
Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Surface: asphalt/concrete/dirt
Weather Conditions: overcast, cool, 60s, morning run
Location: Miraflores/Barranco/Chorillos, Lima, Peru

Comments: The long run of the week and one of my best efforts to date.

I treated the descent to the beach as the warm-up and then hit a regular pace and kept on it. I went out to the Playa La Herradura and turned it around. After a visit to La Bruja I took to the streets of Barranco before hooking back up the the Malencon to finish.

I felt in control the whole way and like I was regulating myself rather than just doing everything I could to get through it. At the end of it I actually felt like I could have gone further but, at the same time, not like I had skimped in any way.

I was a little anxious about it earlier because of the foot problems earlier in the week but i had no problems whatsoever. The fast run yesterday may have played in my favor, I don't know.

Equipment-wise, this was a good effort as well. My running pouch doesn't cause any problem when I wear it under my shorts, it's the slick material that permits it to slide around. The leg band has not been staying secure so I have stopped using it and not noticed any problems.

I used one of the gels my cousin sent me, Honey Stinger. It tasted a lot better than last one but still kinda weird. I had no lack of energy so I guess it works. It won't be until the 2 hour plus runs that I am going to really notice the difference.