only 22 today

I really need to get orthotics. I think that will solve my problem.

The last could of long runs were 25 and 26km each. At about 18km or so, my feet got very sore. I happened to be by a podiatrist this past week and asked him about that and he looked at my feet and said "you need orthotics". he told me some calculation about how many steps per kilometer and explained that when your foot is stepping crooked for that many steps, it makes things hurt.

So I gotta get that taken care of..

This Friday's long run was in the Bet Shemesh area, scheduled for 25km. We met at the top of Nofei Aviv and ran down to Road 10. We turned right and ran towards the 375. We were supposed to have a water stop at the entrance from Road 10 to RBS. That was about 5.5km. After that break we were meant to have a fast tempo run for 8km in which we run at a faster pace - the pace expected for running a half-marathon, rather than an easy paced run. Unfortuantely the break did not happen, because the water one of the runners had placed there overnight had been taken by someone.

We started the fast paced run, and I was falling back a bit. I realized I could be running faster, and there was no reason I should not. So I took off, At the end of the 8km, which ended up in Tzomet Ha'Ela, I had averaged 4:50/km for that 8km, which is a very good pace for me. What was really good, was that I felt myself closing the gap between me and the group of runners running ahead of me. They had been running at a faster pace than me, but when I sped up I felt the gap closing. Eventually I passed the final runner at the back of the group, and felt great! I had closed the gap and run into the group that was running faster than me. I only stayed ahead of one of those runners, as the others had sped up also and were by now further ahead.

After a water break at Tzomet Ha'Ela, we ran the toughest part of the route. From Tzomet Ha'Ela to the entrance to RBS on the 38. That is tough because it is a seriously long and tough hill. By now my feet were very sore and I was running slower.

We had another water break at the RBS entrance, and then we continued on toward BS. We were supposed to enter Bet Shemesh Darom, run up the hill, and back up to Aviv. By the time I got to Park Ha'Plastic, my feet were so sore, I could not imagine taking the hill in Bet Shemesh, though my legs and body were fine. So I turned in by Park HaPlastic, ran the trail behind Aviv and cut the run short at a bit more than 22km.

The final numbers were 22.34km at an average pace of 5:39/km. That included the patch of 8km that I ran at 4:50/km.