I posted on Facebook that I had my first DNF (Did Not Finish) training run, this past Saturday. I am getting belly-floppy right now just thinking about it. It was supposed to be a 19 miler. While I was confident that I could do the mileage, I knew "while" I was running that I needed not be be doing some stuff differently. I took a caffeine pill 15 minutes before we started our run. This is nothing new. I don't drink coffee but I do like a good caffeine kick. I could feel it kicking in during the run. It's normally gradual but I could feel when it got into my system. I took in a full lung full of air & felt my lungs fill to capacity early in the mileage. I wanted to keep a 10:20-ish pace. I tried staying with the group but they were at 11 min. I couldn't go that slowly. I left them & just slowly brought my pace up-- 10:45... 10:30... 10:15... 9:55... 9:45... Yikes! I tried slowing down but it felt so easy & effortless. After 10 miles, we met back at the shelter house. We dropped off the 1/2 marathoners & the marathoners were supposed to head out for another 9. In theory I should have been able to do it. In hindsight there were things I should not have done-- but I PURPOSELY did to "check" if I could. I remember thinking I would "try it today & check if I can do it for race day." In hindsight, I'm glad I tried it during a training run rather than on race day.

Mistake one: calf compression sleeves. I am an XS Zensah calf sleeve girl in the truest recovery sense of the word. On trail runs in the summer, however, I bought some large Zensah sleeves strictly for protection against thorns & grass "slashes". Nothing is worse than itchy grass cuts while you're sweating on a trail run. I wanted to know if last April's Glass City Marathon calf cramps were due to a different brand's calf sleeves cutting at my knees. Was it the brand or the compression? These Zensah sleeves were loose & being worn for warmth only. I find them invaluable on track night!!! How would they fair on a cold Spring day? They kept me warm but I don't think I need compression on a long run. I should have (& know better, now) worn capris on a cool day. That works for me. I see many wearing their own compression & it works for them. It works on shorter distances but it doesn't work for me. That said the Zensah arm sleeves were perfect, Saturday.

Mistake 2: knowing I was going too fast for a long run & thinking "just get it done", anyways. I have had a yucky feeling this week. I didn't know if it was a mild flu or (Jim says) allergies & sinus drainage. 🤢 Either way, I knew it & had control of my pace. I threw caution to the wind & it didn't work with the other factors against me.

Mistake 3: my feet. I have had a "sliver" in my foot since last summer. I have tried performing numerous surgeries on myself but have found nothing. Last month, I finally went to my doctor. She shaved off the callous & didn't see anything either. The callous has returned & there is a very tender spot on my left foot. I double Band-Aid it to no avail. I called the doctor, again, & she has referred me to a podiatrist. That's good because I'm having them look at a couple more spots. I had another encounter with frostbite, again, this year, on my left foot. It hurts as it was mild... My right foot had the tender toe nail that I double Band-Aided. It is what made me stop during my run & ultimately made me so cold I couldn't start running again.

Mistake 4: new shoes-- same brand, same style, same COLOR as previous shoes but these were laced a bit tighter than my others. It made my tender toenail amplified in discomfort. Nothing that tweaking these shoes cant fix... except that I didn't.

I feel bad that I didn't finish my 19 miler. People slower than me, did. I AM glad that I can still fix these mistakes & I'm glad that I tried these gear items on a training run. 19 miles is a long time to try your race day strategy. I did & have a plan of do's & do not's.

This week, I'm getting into that podiatrist. If such small discomforts are eating so much of my focus-- then I need to free up that focus for pacing.

I need to see the good in this DNF & regroup. I still have a few weeks to save face. I worry enough as it is. This race doesn't mean anything to anyone more than it does to myself. I just want to feel strong & comfortable as long as I can. The discomfort is inevitable. Staying mentally focused is my real strategy. Getting my "ducks in a row", now, means trial & error to see what needs to get fixed, tweaked, dumped & replaced. I'm still in a good place. 👍🏼

Canton is one week after Glass City. If I consider this week a duplicate of last week's training schedule, technically I'm still on track. If I can do 22 next week- nothing lost. If I only get 19 during Ed Dibble, I'm still on track & will do 22 the following weekend. I find comfort in a plan. 💕