Monday, December 20, 2010

December Run

I couldn't do my long run yesterday. My left foot was way too sore and in need of an extra day of healing. So either I was skipping it this week or pushing it off to today.

I ended up doing it tonight. Running seven miles on a weekday isn't easy, especially after working all day.

Out of necessity, I had to stay a little late at school. By the time I got home and changed, it was almost 4:30. Driving to the beach (the only lighted area around), running the seven miles, stretching out and driving back would have taken nearly two hours when you add in time for showering and changing. I opted to eat dinner and spend some time with the kids before heading out at about 8:30. Between my running and Bill's coaching, it's not very often that we get a chance to spend the evening together.

It was about 28 degrees. As I ran along the beach, the view on one side was the ocean, beautifully illuminated by the full moon. On the other side, were the beach houses either dark and vacant or lit up with big screen televisions showing Monday night football.

Happily, this was a pain-free run. I had taken the inserts out of my shoes (haven't gotten to RRS yet) and the blisters were no longer a problem. It was freezing at first, but after the first mile I was warm enough. The wind was at my back for half the run and that was glorious. Running against the wind, on the other hand, was unpleasant to say the least.

The plan for the week is as follows: Tonight, 7 miles; Wednesday, 5 miles; Friday, 5 miles; Sunday, 8 miles. This would total 25 miles, which is LESS than the 26.2 miles I'll be running in one shot in May.

Oy.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Fa la la la argh

Woke up this morning to no clean clothes and no clean silverware. Also a basement full of unwrapped gifts and a list of things left to pick up in the next week. There are weeks where I balance teaching, housework, kids and running. This wasn't one of them.

Spent the day running around the house, trying to catch up on things around here.

We had a family Christmas party in the evening (where I managed to choose the most unhealthy food options possible) and now Bill and I are up really, really late watching a really, really, really bad movie.

This should make for an interesting long run tomorrow. Planning on seven miles. Hoping that my foot is healed enough.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Blood, Sweat,...

So the good news is that I have a pretty high tolerance for pain.

The bad news is that I threw a piece of my foot skin into the garbage tonight.

Bill got sick this morning and left work early. Then Will got sick at school and was sent home after lunch. I spent the afternoon getting Will settled and driving Liam to my mom's to put him into quarantine.

I spent most of the evening finishing a project two days post deadline. I was planning on skipping my run, but decided last minute to head to the gym. I did a quick three-miles on the treadmill and decided not to remove the inserts.

As usual, my feet and calves were sore with the new sneakers. However, I didn't fully realize the damage until I got home and pulled off my shoes.

I am done with 'breaking in' these shoes and heading back to the store this weekend for some help. Hard to believe that I didn't have a single pain or problem running in shoes that were nearly three years old. But now, in a pair of new ones, I'm hobbling around like a newbie.

Friday, December 17, 2010

Good Intentions

No running today.

Jeans starting to feel seasonably tight, so I did spend some time thinking about getting on a better eating kick in January. Thinking about finding a good nutrition book to read over the break. Would also like to find a good multivitamin.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Blisters, Take Two

Desperate to avoid a new set of blisters, I stopped at a sporting goods store on the way home from work. I sprang for the most dry-fit-high-performance-arch-supporting-left-right-specific-whatever-else-you-can-think-of socks that I could find.

Too lazy to bundle up for the cold, I opted for the treadmill tonight and ran a little over 5 miles. Since I was running on the early side, there wasn't much on television. I ended up watching Food Network where the Nealy's were getting their groove on and then Paula Dean made butter with a side of butter for dinner.

The socks were a FAIL as I got new blisters on top of my old ones as well as unusually sore calves.

I called Road Runner Sports when I got home and explained the problem with the new kicks. The woman on the phone politely suggested that perhaps two 5-mile runs were not the most gentle way of breaking them in and that I should just probably walk around in them for a few days. Brilliant... why didn't I think of that? She also told me that if the problem persisted, I could come in after a week or so and exchange the inserts for new ones.

I might pull the inserts for Friday's run and try wearing them around the house for a week or so.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Cards & Letters

No run tonight.

Camped out in front of television watching Biggest Loser Finale and stuffing Christmas cards with fundraising letters.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

New Kicks

Ran 4.7 miles tonight on the boardwalk. Gorgeous beach houses lit up for for the holidays made for nice scenery.

It was cold, but by the end of the first mile, I was warm enough to strip off my gloves and open my jacket a little. I traded my usual knit hat for a headband, and this worked better. The wind was so strong that I had to brace myself a few times.

I was also breaking in a brand new pair of sneakers.

I had been using my past pair for almost three years and people were telling me it was time to make a switch. Last week a fellow runner, a complete stranger, paused to tell me that the most important thing in training is "good footwear". Um, point taken.

I went to Road Runner Sports for a "Shoe Dog" running analysis over the weekend. It was determined that I had very high arches and that the size I was currently wearing was too small. I was told that supporting my arches with inserts would be important to preventing injury over long distance training. So I set out on tonight's run with new sneakers and new inserts made especially for runners with high arches. (Note also the funky asymmetric laces that go up the side of the shoe.)

Overall, this was a pretty uncomfortable run. I'm used to feeling my feet flex when I run and the new shoes kept my feet incredibly rigid and stiff. By mile three, I had developed blisters on each foot where the inserts rubbed against the arches. When I finished the run, my calves were unusually sore-- probably due to overcompensating for the stiffness in my feet.

I'm tempted to remove the inserts, but I'm going to try and stick it out for a few more runs. Before my next run on Wednesday, I'm going to spring for some real running socks. I'm thinking that this might fix the blister problem. And hopefully, after some more mileage, the shoes will break themselves in a little.