Shoegate: Runfessions February 2019

~ Chocolaterunsjudy

brunfess219

I’m joining Marcia @ Marcia’s Healthy Slice to share my thoughts on Shoegate 2019. Don’t know what that is? I wish I didn’t!

I runfess . . .
The black hole saga continues. I’ve written about the black hole in my house somewhere that possessions seem to fall through — many times! The newest additions were my compression socks. I only have three pairs of the ones I really like; I do have some others that I use more for recovery than for running in.

One pair went missing. I remembered getting them to lay out, but try as I could, I couldn’t find them. Apparently they were hiding in plain sight in Gizmo’s room . . . I found them just sitting on top of a bag in the room after I cleared out his stuff. Much like Dorothy, they’d been there all the time.

And then there was the time I spent hunting for my old Ipad (a new one was a sort-of birthday present) when I got home; I’d completely forgotten where I’d hidden the old one while we were away.

These Newtons just weren’t the same & my houdini compression socks

I runfess . . .
Did you hear the one about Shoegate? My own personal shoegate, that is. I love Newtons for racing/long runs. Last summer I had trouble finding them, but eventually procured some for my races and didn’t give it much more thought until a couple of months before my upcoming half — I really like a new shoe for a goal race.

You guessed it — I couldn’t find them any in my size. I did a little digging, and apparently the original partners split up a couple of years ago and while the company is technically still in business, they’re running on a skeleton crew and as far as I can tell not producing new shoes. I am crushed.

I ran in an older pair. Maybe it was a bad idea, I got a huge blood blister during my race. I’d already raced a couple of halfs in that particular pair . . . or maybe it was the new socks I ran in in the race . . .

And wouldn’t you know it? Now that I no longer have goal races on my calendar, they have new shoes back in stock! Can you hear my teeth gnashing?

bdrsavannah1
Were my shoes too old — or the socks too new?

I runfess . . .
Speaking of Newtons, I also runfess that I barely ran in them this training cycle. I further runfess I got so desperate I bought a pair of Men’s and did run in them a few times, but it had a much more built up heel (and the lower heel is part of why I love my Newtons).

So I didn’t train in the Newtons I wore in the race except for a couple of training runs in Savannah. Because of all the snow and ice, all my long runs were done in the more built up Mens Newtons or screw shoes or trail shoes (or on the treadmill) — which may be why my hamstrings started to ache again.

I runfess . . .
I couldn’t find my heating coil that I always travel with. Even though the hotel room was supposed to have a microwave (it did), you just never know. As long as I have an outlet I can make tea.

Eventually it occurred to me that I had taken it with me to my race in Cape Cod — almost 4 months ago. And yup, it was still in the larger insulated food bag I’d brought, in the trunk of my car.

I runfess . . .
That popcorn has fueled a lot of half marathons over the last few years. Pizza and popcorn seem to be my go-tos for prerace carb loading; you can keep your pasta! I had the opportunity to buy popcorn in Savannah, but I chose not to. Probably because of all the fried foods and sweets I consumed, I figured I was fueling just fine already.

What has shoe desperation caused you to do?

Favorite prerace carbs (or are you fat adapted)?

Made any rookie mistakes in a race?

What do you have to runfess from February? Come join us

Runfessions

I am also linking up with:

29 thoughts on “Shoegate: Runfessions February 2019”

  1. It’s easy when you only wear one type of shoe. But I do think of trying a new one.

    I wore no compression for my last race. For the first time ever. May have been a mistake.

    Pasta or preferably pizza before a race but if I’m at a friends I have to adapt.

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      1. But you often race without them. I never have before. As they say “nothing new on race day.” I lube and wear mole skin on my feet but on a wet humid day, I know I’ll get a blister (under the mole skin). No biggie. Not an injury, at least.

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  2. I go for the usual pizza or past the night before. Popcorn is probably a good choice. Maybe high in fiber for some, but not too bad. I got a weird twinge after trying Newtons and have been scared to try again.

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      1. They may not provide enough support for you (although there are also different models of them), but obviously it’s fine for me, as I’ve run 18 miles in them no problem (and many halfs, many long runs, etc.).

        Which just shoecases why it’s ridiculous when runners ask what another runner is wearing — we all have very different feet & very different needs in shoes.

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    2. I have a really strong stomach. 🙂 And I eat a pretty high fiber diet, so I’m just used to it. But there was no popcorn this time.

      Newtons require getting used to the lower drop for most people — not so much for me. I have found that I can get twinges if I run solely in Newtons (although there are different models), and therefore usually run in a more built up shoe for easy runs.

      I definitely wouldn’t recommend them right now considering what’s going on with them. 😦

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  3. So sorry to hear about your sneaker drama, and then to learn that they now have the sneakers in your size now that you don’t have a goal race on the calendar? Ugh!!

    For a pre-race meal, pizza or seafood (usually shrimp) seem to work well. I have done pasta a few times and while it’s been okay, sometimes it can be a bit too heavy of a meal.

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    1. I actually find that pasta just isn’t filling enough for me. Which probably causes me to eat too much of it.

      Yeah, finding out that they have new models in my size NOW was putting salt in the wound. Although they are really expensive (and yet I’m tempted to snap up some anyway!).

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  4. I like pizza or pasta the night before a race or anytime really 🙂 Carbs are my soul mate even if my body doesn’t think so! I don’t usually have trouble finding my shoe in my size. I do have a ridiculous collection of them though

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  5. I runfess that I have considered getting men’s shoes when I cannot find my favorites for a good price. The issue, though, is I have a pretty narrow foot, so I’d need a B width, which is a narrow width for men (most men’s shoes come in D width). I love my pasta the night before (more of a routine than a necessity), but I’ve done pizza and other stuff and it hasn’t really made a difference.

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    2. The men’s shoes fit me just fine. I have a somewhat narrow foot, but my compression socks are pretty cushioned so it was fine. But it also had a much more built up heel and absolutely not what I was going for. 😦 They weren’t expensive, though, so it was worth a try and they’ll be fine for easy runs.

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  8. I runfess that I’m a basic pasta girl, what can I say? But, I have done pizza on occasion. And even a Panera salad once.

    I runfess that when I lose something, it’s usually in the last place I put it. lol. Actually, I also have a black hole in my house. And some things have legitimately gone missing with no explanation. It’s weird.

    That totally stinks about the whole shoes thing. So frustrating!

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  9. Pizza is hubby’s favorite pre-race meal. I can eat just about anything. The weirdest pre-race meal I ever had was last year in Richmond before Ukrop’s 10k. I had mussels and French fries! And a beer.

    Savannah is a true foodie city. Hubby loved it!

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    1. Ok, mussels are definitely random (and not good for my husband’s gout, although he does like them –not really my thing). Fries on the other hand would work for me. 🙂

      There was definitely lots of great food in Savannah!

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  11. Does popcorn even have calories? LOL

    I hate when my favorite shoes change or disappear. I’ve learned to be so much more flexible when it comes to shoes. I have a few brands now–I don’t even know who I am anymore!

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    1. I do have a few brands I like but for racing I just love the Newtons. Of course picking something that’s from a small company . . . it’s probably time to revisit some of Brooks’ more minimalist shoes.

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