Another successful 15 km today at Chickakoo…

The trails were muddy and in places traction was difficult and I ended up carrying a few extra pounds of mud on my shoes for a while but thankfully it did not begin to rain until a few minutes after my run. As soon as I started up the truck to go home it began raining really hard. I did the first lap in 63 minutes, and the second in 58 minutes.

I made a big mistake in wearing the New Balance trail shoes I said I would never wear running again in a previous post. But I figured that the trails would be really muddy (they were not as bad as I feared). I immediately had problems running and shin splints were threatening. I had to loosen off the laces to such an extend that it was almost like I was wearing loose sandals or flip-flops. Also I could definitely notice the cushioning of the New Balance was virtually non-existent compared to my Saucony’s or Mizuno’s. Even on the soft trail I could feel extra shock I would never have noticed with my other shoes. I can’t have even the slightest amount of pressure from the shoelaces on my insteps or else my blood supply gets cut off leading to instant muscle burn and shin splints.

After I loosened off the laces the muscle burn and shin splints went away and I could begin to run a little freer. Those New Balance runners are now destined to be just a pair of everyday walking shoes. I have not had much success with New Balance shoes. My first pair destroyed themselves after only 200 km. I would not recommend them to anyone but of course, other people seem to like them well enough.

That’s it. My training is now over. Now, other than a couple of slow 5 km runs to stay loose, I am not training any more for the race. It’s all about healing time now.

If any one reads this who is going to the race, let me tell you that the last set of hills before the finish is a long and seemingly never ending upward struggle over at least a kilometer. Then a huge downhill and the rest is a piece of cake. The other hills on the course are very steep up and downs but relatively short. There are a lot of them. See you at the race!