better 5K

Maybe the problem is level ground. I've had shin splints up and down hills, of course, but I've noted many times in the past that most of my pains at least lessen when headed up hill. And some get worse while others go away on down hills. Flats have always been a problem for me. If so, Houston is going to be a killer.

I had a talk with my mother yesterday and she reminded me that the only person who would be disappointed by me shelving the marathon and doing the half instead would be ME. heh. Which is to say, I have no fan base to perform for - I'm only performing for myself.

Further thinking along that theme calms me, for it leads me to conclude that the whole point to this running thing, after all, is to take care of my lungs. And THAT has been great lately. Oh, sure, coughing usually fills the first five miles of a run, but that's not what I'm talking about. Right now, I'm in a place where between the running and the right balance of Vest and inhaled therapies, my lungs feel good pretty much 24/7. I have maybe one or two moderate asthma attacks per week and none of my activities are limited. THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT!

I'll do Houston, though I may only do the half. I will take a big step back, as previously described, and step along a very careful training schedule and run NY. And, I think, that will be my last marathon. My legs are not built for such distances, I'm afraid. The fact that I start getting injured at distances above half-marathon is vivid proof of that.

I got up a little earlier to put in a run. I tried to just run, not think. I also took the hills route up to the park and back. It's mostly asphalt, since I can run in the road most of the way. Today was a rough, hard run, but not dreadful. Actually, the leg pains were much less and I only stopped for stretching once (right after the first mile - you can see the delay in my splits). What got me today, like one of those sneaky little catch 22's, was the coughing. It was cold today - I could see my breath the whole way - and I wore pants and two shirts, so I while I was warm, the cold air still affected my lungs. They need to get up to speed here! I coughed and coughed and coughed. My sputum was rather thick and that's a sign I'm dehydrated. Mostly I ran through my coughing fits, particularly on the return leg, but a few of them were doozies.

Okay. More stretching; more foam rolling; see what I can produce tomorrow. *sigh*