Christmas Eve

Observations on my marathon training:
The miles are starting to take a toll.
I did five miles this evening in 46 minutes. I used to be able to do it in 45 or less. My weekly mileage hit a personal lifetime high of 46 today which was without a 3-mile run I skipped on Wednesday. The 13 on Tuesday was challenging. The 10 on Thursday was painful.
The pain in my left ankle is on the top front side of the bone and actually runs up my shin which is an early sign of shin splints (Jon! Help!). I soak my legs in the cold outdoor pool water after I run. I give the ankle/shin an ice massage twice a day.
I borrowed a "stick" from Track Shack to work out kinks in my calves before running. It is somewhat helpful. I stretch.
I have decided to be prudent and push my Sunday/Christmas Day long run to Monday, skip Tuesday's 13 miler and pick it up again Wednesday. I feel like I need to baby my legs along here. Speeding through the marathon is not my goal. Finishing in one piece is. I have to make it to Miami in one piece too.

I am enjoying my roll as cruise director for the Miami Marathon. Brent and Rae, Noames and four runners from Orlando are on my list of passengers to corral for a night-before carbo load and day-of-race meet-up and photo op. I am checking out Rosinella’s on Lincoln Road a couple of blocks from the beach in Miami Beach - a well regarded Italian place. Mmmm.