This is my first RR in over three years, I may be a little rusty.

So training did not go as I had planned or wanted, it took a while for me to find my mojo. I'd get a LR of 13-16 miles in, then it would be two weeks before I'd get another in. It wasn't til September that I finally found my drive and started getting my LRs in and running every chance I got - morning, afternoon or evening.

This was my first training cycle that I ran not one 20 miler, but a 21 mile LR before the Evansville Half Marathon and then two 20 miles before the Monumental. Everything seemed to be going good until that week after the final 20 miler, when two days off didn't seem to help and my shins were really bothering me. I started to freak out and took 5 or 6 days off from running hoping that would help, I also started to think about the shoes I had and knew I really needed to look into getting fitted for a new model or brand of shoes, but I am a horrible procrastinator. 
The Ravennas were no longer working for me, they did make changes to the platform or whatever it's called, the part that helps support under-pronators - and I say fuck them for it. The Richocets seemed to be okay for up to 21 miles, and of course that was the furthest distance I had ran in them, but Brooks was discontinuing them for an untold time - Fuck Brooks, I hate them now.
I tried the Levitate 2s, they were a no go but it wasn't until three days before the race that I finally decided to go to an LRS and get fitted. The guy brought out the Brooks Adrenaline 19's, the Mizuno Wave Inspires and a Saucony brand and another that I didn't look at because I liked the Mizunos, they felt snug and I like snug. I took them home and tried them immediately, there was no pain or irritation but unfortunately they were too snug. By mile 2 my feet were tingling and I knew that was a bad thing.... I took them back (this next week I may go back and try them in a size 9 instead of 8.5), I exchanged them for the Adrenalines and took those home. I had one more morning to try a pair of shoes and decide, Friday morning I got up and tried the Adrenalines, Jetta and I only made it to .8 miles before turning back as I was immediately feeling pain in my shins and feet, we got in 1.5 miles and that was all I needed to know. It appeared that the ones I'd be running in would be my newest Richocets, I hope and prayed they would get me to the finish line.
Friday's drive was okay, the rental we got was an Altima, a basic model with no Lombard system and an annoying headrest that I immediately took off. The lack of a Lombard system annoyed my sciatic nerve, big time. We stopped off at Cataract Falls, I took pics of the Upper Falls and Lower Falls, didn't get to see the falls where you get to walk behind the water but oh well. 
This one here is a pic of the Lower Falls, there are signs saying not to swim but people apparently jump in anyways and swim. It was 36 degrees so I was not going for a swim.

This one is still the Lower Falls but a bit closer and it is the small falls that you see above that first waterfall. I wish I could have stayed longer but hubby and Dorian were waiting in the car.

After spending about half an hour there, and letting Dorian play on some slides (he was being such a good boy and really wanted to play on the slides so we gave him about 10 minutes, he was satisfied), we were on our way to Indy. The rest of the evening was hectic, I was constantly in and out of the hotel room, we got our stuff into the room and realized the laptop was still in the trunk, hubby didn't see it so I went down to the valet to get our key, got lost in the parking garage and probably walked .75 - 1 mile. Then I went to the Expo twice (I first went to get my race packet, saw headbands and wanted to go back and get my card as I forgot to bring a headband so made two trips, probably 1.5 miles total). Later that evening I had to go down and make popcorn (the rooms at the Courtyard do not have microwaves.... last time we'll be staying here). By the end of the night I could feel my legs were a bit tired - I took ibuprofen before falling asleep. 

My night was restless, I was in and out of sleep but when I woke at 6 am I felt pretty rested. I had some oatmeal (forgot to bring a spoon so that was fun), I took some ibuprofen (and I don't regret it). Then I foam rolled and did some yoga stretches before getting ready, it was 7:12 when I realized we didn't bring any baby wipes up from the car and I knew Dorian would be going #2 this morning while I was gone and he would not appreciate that crappy toilet paper so I headed down to the valet to get the keys again, then to the car and back up to the room. I kissed Dorian and hubs goodbye and headed down to the race by 7:36 am. 

It felt like forever before things got moving, so many people were taking selfies that finally I said fuck it and took one to post on IG.

Congrats!

 

We had similar painful experiences as my legs and back were hurting most of the race. There were other points where we ran towards the wind which sucked but those last two miles into it were the worse.

Yes, the last 2 were the worst 😵 but it's over now 🙂

Congrats FS! Calling someone during a race is not something I did or think I'll ever do. 

It never easy to race a marathon. You did that, you felt the pain, you toughed it out, so be proud of what you just did!

😊 thanks all. We are home now, a 2 l.5 hour drive, I almost fell over getting out of the car 

Yes, after a few days of rest I'll be going back to the LRS, determined to get this shie thing figured out. 🙂

😊 thanks all. We are home now, a 2 l.5 hour drive, I almost fell over getting out of the car 

Yes, after a few days of rest I'll be going back to the LRS, determined to get this shie thing figured out. 🙂

Don’t worry. My drive was 40 mins yesterday and I almost fell.

Sorry about the shoe disasters but congrats on the finish!

Congrats on the race! I've worn older versions of the Ravenna--you may want to give the Mizuno Wave Riders a try. They are neutral shoes, but I never felt like the Ravennas were very supportive. Basically, don't fell like you have to be tied to a certain type of shoe.

I know, I loved the Ravennas though... been running in them since 2010, tried others and always found myself going back to the Ravennas. I think I tried Wave Riders once, my shins didn't like them, the LRS said they were too stiff/supportive for me.

But I liked those Wave Inspires, sadly too damn snug, I'm seriously thinking about trying them one size bigger.

 

The Inspires are way stiffer and supportive than the Wave Riders. They've changed them a lot--mayabe give them another chance.

Yeah I'm thinking I will, but a size bigger. I know some people wear different sizes depending on model. I really liked them too.