outsiderunner wrote:
Niceguy542007 wrote:I am convinced that how you feel about your race performance greatly influences how you feel physically afterwards.
There are exceptions of course. but in general, if you cross the finish line enthused about how you did, I believe it makes recovery a bit easier.
Of course, that could be totally wrong!
In general, I think you are probably right.
I am thinking more in terms of both training and racing, and am wondering about quad load. I wore a higher drop shoe at NYC (12mm), and my quads cramped like crazy at about mile 20 (never had this problem in longer runs). I would have to check my log, but I think I wore the same shoe on a 16- or 18-miler prior to the race, at near marathon pace, with no discernible issues. Hence, my train of thought is that since low-drop shoes tend to stress the calves, perhaps high-drop shoes stress the quads.
No. Look at 6mm on a ruler, compared to the size of your quads and the distance from your quads to your heels (not even really on the same chain... front vs back!).
You cramped like crazy because you went out too fast for your muscle's fitness on a tough course with difficult pre-race logistics. Not because of 6mm of heel drop in shoes you had already been using in training.