Ah….Disney 1/2 in 10 days!!! OH MY!

When I started this blog, Disney was on my mind – my training leading up to it. But it was one of those things that seemed so far off that I couldn’t possibly conceive of actually doing it. Now it’s a scant 10 days away and I’m alternately psyched about it and scared out of my mind.

So this is my tapering period…..I peaked with an 11 mile run last Monday…..the training plan I was following (loosely) had me getting up to 14 miles before the race. However, the nagging issues of my plantar fascititis had me scale back on a few weeks. Nonetheless, my 11 felt great that day…finished it in 2 hours, 20 mins. Which meant that I was on pace for the finish I had predicted of 2 hours, 50 minutes. So it seemed do-able.

My whole long run I kept picturing running with my sister (and praying she’s not going to push me to a 10 min mile – yikes!) and crossing the finish line. But then I’d get weepy and start yelling at myself, “There’s no crying in running.” But I finished well and was excited about it.

Now I’ve been in tapering mode. Managed a some good short runs – including a 4 mile run on the morning of Christmas Eve when it was 86 degrees out. Who manages a small case of sunburn on Christmas Eve? This week I’ve done two runs already. The first on Monday was with my husband….we managed to get me to do 12 min miles for a 5K. And then today I did another 5K on my own and pushed to an 11:45 pace for the first mile. I think the freezing cold has something to do with it……We’re in Illinois and no chance of a sunburn here! In fact today I had to avoid some last remnants of snow here and there on the roads. (The snow on Tuesday was cool but thankfully brief and quite melt-y.) But maybe, just maybe, my body’s ready for this Disney dance. I plan to do another 5 or 6 on Friday and then two short runs next week. I pray they all go as well as these last handful.

In other news – my foot pain is subsiding – or at least it’s manageable. I’ve been wearing a splint for a few hours at night (as long as I can stand it). And doing the ice bottles, rolling on golf balls, taping, etc. I even got a home visit by my friend’s dad who is a retired podiatrist. He basically pointed out some features of my feet and ankles that contribute to this…but that are just the way I was born. He wasn’t concerned and suggested some good work arounds to help cope and get my foot to a better place.

But the thing that really seems to be helping my foot is my Christmas present. My husband bought me a pair of Merrell’s pace glove. LOVE THEM! They have the Vibram soles but not the individual toes….so a mitten rather than a glove for your feet (which is actually as I think it should be….the five fingers look odd on some feet). I’m not about to start minimalist running with 10 days before a big race. But I am wearing them as everyday shoes.

Given the pain – I’ve been wearing my running shoes non-stop for weeks (yes even with church clothes!). But this is a nice light-weight solution to that…and man are they comfy. My feet really like them a lot. I’m thinking I need to add to my collection of them with some of the Mary Jane style ones to look a bit more “dressy”.

Steve has been wearing his trail gloves daily for awhile now. And he even got some of the leather dressy ones for work. He has incredibly narrow feet so they work really well for him. And he believes that the wear (no running in them) has strengthened his feet. (I believe he’ll do more “barefoot” runs after the Disney marathon.) Perhaps he’s right. All I know is that for the past 4 days of owning them – I love them. We’ll see about running – but for now, my feet are happy and my pain is much less. YES!

And with that – I look eagerly forward to updating you on my last few runs and then DISNEY!!!!!! Donald medal here I come!