If you have ever trained for a marathon you likely have noticed that you start to feel pain in new spots that you didn’t previously notice pain creeping in. After a long run, perhaps your back or hips might bother, your knee might feel a little tender after running 18 miles or perhaps your feet are just plain old tired after pounding on the pavement for a while. While having a good pair of sneakers is essential, having proper orthotic inserts also can go a really long way. I recently came across the brand FootMatters and have noticed some marked improvements in my during-run gait, less pain while out on the run and quicker recovery time after my long runs.

The FootMatters orthotics prides themselves on providing the right arch stabilization to provide runners with better in-run impact and thereby resulting in less pain. Whether you are training for a 5k or a marathon, these orthotics are comfortable and effective and provide great support. Having previously completed a marathon, I truly feel as though my training this time around has been improved thanks to the utilization of FootMatters.

FootMatters are quite reasonably priced and I can assure you that for the asking price it is far less than the deductible I paid when I had an arthroscope done on my knee a few years back. Do yourself a favor and listen to your achy back, sore knee or tired feet and purchase a pair of FootMatters today. You won’t be disappointed!

Today I was off to the Woods Hole portion of Falmouth, Massachusetts for the 35th Annual Seagull Six Road Race. Now a six mile road race is usually not a big deal for me, but after doing 20 miles yesterday as part of my Boston Marathon training needless to say I was a bit sore and on the ride down to Falmouth was so tempted to pull into a diner and have breakfast instead of going off to run. Fortunately I opted to not go for the corned beef hash and eggs with rye toast and instead made it to the starting line for the run.

The Seagull Six is an absolutely amazing race that has you climbing hills for a good portion of the race. A portion of the course is the along the same roads as the Cape Cod Marathon and Falmouth Road Race and the six miles of running is a good challenge. Running along the Atlantic Ocean especially when climbing near Nobska Lighthouse makes for some breathtaking views. The finish of the race has you climbing once again in mile 5 before you head on a nice, quick down hill heading back into Woods Hole and into the finish.

Post-race festivities took place at Captain Kidd and heading back home a coffee and pastry from Pie in the Sky Bakery & Cafe absolutely hit the spot!

Even after running 20 miles yesterday, I felt pretty strong out there today and was pleased with how I ran the race. The uphills did not bother me too much and after the race I was nowhere near as tight as I thought I would be. I finished the race (which is actually 5.74 miles) with a time of 45:45 or 7:58/miles.

The 2012 The Cure is Coming will be held in Lexington Center on May 5th. The event will feature a 5K Road Race, a 4-mile awareness walk and wheelchair ride, a picnic lunch, music and family entertainment! The Cure is Coming is dedicated to raising ALS awareness and raising funds for ALS Therapy Development Institute, the largest non-profit biotech solely focused on finding an effective therapy for ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease.

In 2011, the Cure is Coming 5k had more walkers and runners than ever before and raised over $60,000 for the ALS TDI. They hope to break records again in 2012 and I encourage you to run with The Running Griffin at this great event!

To register for either the walk or the 5k run, please click here.

This weekend I traveled back to the hometown of Holyoke, Massachusetts where I took place in the annual Holyoke St. Patrick’s Day Road Race. This race has grown to be the absolute best race in Western Massachusetts (and arguably the state/region) and close to 7,000 runners took place in yesterday’s event.

The Holyoke St. Patrick’s Day Road Race is a 10k that travels through the streets of Holyoke and hands down is one of the more challenging courses you will find. Runners start off in the downtown section of the old paper mill city and then head up-town running up some pretty substantial hills. At about the 4 mile mark the race begins a nice descent down Cherry Street and back toward downtown Holyoke.

The running conditions this year were absolutely beautiful as given the timing of the race you could be dealing with snow, sleet and cold temperatures. However, this year there was mild temperatures, some pretty nice cloud cover and the sun broke out just about as the race was ending. Absolutely ideal running conditions!

Thanks to all the fans who lined the course this year and cheered runners on! At some points along the course the crowds were 3-4 rows deep and the last .2 stretch of the run toward the finish was more crowded than I have ever seen it before.

This year, local runner Zach Hine won the race which is the first time a local runner has run in 20 years. Typically the Kenyan contingency takes home the prize, but Hine, who was just part of the US Olympic trials, ran a stellar race to win the prize!

I finished the race with a time of 50:40 good for 8:06/miles. What I was most pleased with is that I shaved just under 2 minutes off my time from last year!

Boston Marathon numbers have been announced and my official race number is 22630! One month until the marathon!