10K Duendes del Valle

I ran my second 10k race on Sunday, the 10K Duendes del Valle. I got to the starting line about 30 minutes before the race start so I had a chance to warm-up properly and go to the bathroom. It was 7:15 and the race started! It was a very crowded start with 3,000 runners. I managed to be at midpack but still the start was pretty slow. I tried to go to the side of the pack so I could go ahead and pass the slower runners. I picked up a 5:30 min/km pace. Didn't want to exceed myself as my left leg was still sore. To my surprise the sore became to disappear and I began to run at a faster pace. However, I did a stupid rookie mistake of trying out my new insoles. At about kilometer 3 I began to feel that right foot was rubbing rubbing very hard with the new insole. At about kilometer 5 I though it would be wise to quit the race or at least walk but I looked at my garmin and read a time of 25:45. My ego didn't let me stop as it desperately wanted a new personal record. I arrived at the finish line at 50:38 (5:04 min/km pace)! I shaved off 4 minutes of my previuos 10K race. I was very proud with my new personal record, but my right foot was really sore with a very big blister because of the new insoles. No more insoles for me, I will be looking to buy new running shoes this week. I'm thinking of taking this week off from running so I can recover from my blister and my left leg, which is still a little sore.

Saturday

I rode my mountain bike for 20 kms in flat, paved terrain through the Huasteca Canyon. Easy riding to loosen my legs for Sunday's 10K race.

Friday

I went to a local shoe store to have my foot analyzed (in search of a reason of why my leg is still sore). So I stepped on the footprint analysis equipment and found out that I have a high arc on both of my feet (higher on left) and a neutral stride (mild pronation). The store seller explained that I need to use running shoes that offers good cushioning because of my high arch, which does not provide the natural absorption that a normal arch provides. My current running shores are for trail running, and are usually harder with less cushioning. I think I found an explanation of why my leg hurts. I couldn't find any running shoe that I liked and besides they are very expensive here in Mexico and not much variety. Anyways, I bought some insoles that the seller recommended for my high arches.

Still sore

I still fell my leg sore at two different parts: just above the knee and right below my pelvis area. I'm beginning to think I might need some days of rest from running. I'll see how it goes after my 10K race this Sunday. Here is a recap of the last few days:

Monday - Complete Rest

Tuesday - Supposed to train track repeats, but was too sore to run, so I just walked for 20 minuts on the treadmill and I took a video of myself running on the treadmill to analyze my foot strike and running form. I haven't analyzed the video yet, but as soon as I do i'll post it.

Wednesday - Stretching and strength workouts

Thursday - Goal was to run 8km @ 5:37 min/pace; I ran 8km at @ 5.40 min/km pace, almost on target.

Guitarritas Mountain Bike and 16K Run

Saturday was a cross-training day and went out mountain biking with my brother Andres to Guitarritas Canyon (15km away from the entrance to Huasteca Canyon Park); great place with beautiful scenery. 30 kms through rocky terrain at an easy pace with some rests.

Sunday was a 16k run to Huasteca Canyon (my longest yet!). Pretty flat run with a slight uphill the first 8 kms and slight downhill on the way back. I was still feeling my left leg a little sore, but it become less and less and then it became absent as I ran more kilometers! I ran the 16k in 1:36:00 (6:00 min/km pace). When I finished the run, I felt that I could go on running some more kilometers, but decided to stick with the FURMAN plan to prevent any injuries.

Today, my left leg is still hurting slightly when I walk, but I think it is now disappearing (hopefully, as this sunday is my 10K race).

First Post

I'm trying out my new blog. This is my first post ever. I live in Monterrey, Mexico and have been married for 4 months now. I will try to post every once in a while throughout my Marathon training. My goal is to run the Monterrey Marathon in December 14, 2008. I will be following the FIRST (Furman Institute of Runing and Scientific Training) program which consists of running 3 days a week and 2 or 3 days cross-train (stationary bike and mountain bike for me).

I have several weeks with my new toy-gadget/training tool the Garmin Forerunner 305 with GPS receiver and heart rate monitor. I also have a Polar S725x which I used for my biking and running before getting the FR 305, but I think it will be left in the drawer for a while, since I am testing the FR305, and so far loving it; loaded with tons of training features.

I have been running for a while now as well as mountain biking. For the past two years I have been competing in Regional and Local mountain bike races and will now make a transition to running races to build a more solid base for my marathon training.

As of now, for running I have only a 10K race under my belt, 54:32 (5:27 min/km pace) at the 10k Imagen Banamex a few weeks ago, my personal record (I have ran some Duathlons and mountain running races, but for mountain biking training purposes)

I am currently feeling my left leg a little sore after my Tuesday running interval sessions, which was pretty tough. I skipped my Thursday Tempo run as my leg is still hurting, and did 30 minutes of stationary biking. Hopefully this will be gone for my Sunday long run of 16K (my longest run has been 14.48K, last Sunday, 1:21:39 (5:38 min/km pace). I beat my planned 5:51 pace for the session, which this might also be the reason of why my left leg hurts.

Anyways, here are my next races:

March 9: 10K Duendes del Valle
April 20: 21K Monterrey