Eight

Went for an early run this morning. Tried to beat the little afternoon snowstorm and made it.

Ran eight miles along the shore. It was windy, cold and grey-- but after the first mile I was warm for the remainder of the run. There were so many people out running and the boardwalk was still full of snow and ice from the previous storm, so I was still on the road.

Before starting, my left leg was sore, but I did the run anyway. Afterwards, the soreness had turned into pain. I got home and Googled and I'm pretty sure that it's my left achilles tendon.

I'm resting for the remainder of the weekend. Taking some anti-inflammatories and using ice. Hoping the pain goes away in time for Monday's run.

Getting Back Into It

Ran seven miles today. Due to the snow, was forced to run along the street. It was getting dark and tough to distinguish the wet pavement from potential ice.

Overall a better run than Sunday, but still not great. Feeling unusually sore and tired afterwards. Hoping that this is just a post-holiday slump-- too much cheesecake and Chinese food, not enough workouts.

Really need to start eating and sleeping better.

Running five on Friday and eight on Sunday.

The Break

I ran almost seven miles today. It nearly killed me.

I was supposed to run on the 23rd of December. But I had presents to buy and wrap, a house to clean, kids to make ornaments with and so on. I decided that I would take a few days off and make up for it after Christmas. Then came the snow storm and house guests and before I knew it, I was two days into the new year.

I signed up for today's group run and was encouraged to try for the scheduled 8 miles. Fueled with two weeks of junk food and inactivity, I was rightfully hesitant. The weather was warm and there was a light rain half-way through, so I only made it to seven.

I was huffing and puffing and my legs and arms felt like anchors. Every step felt tough and the idea of quitting crossed my mind on many occasions.

I'm not planning on skipping any more stretches of time in my next few months of training.

Next run is scheduled for Tuesday.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Cards & Letters

No run tonight.

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

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.