Saturday

Well, that long run ended up not being so long. I made 2.5 and walked the rest of the way home. I had wanted to do 6 so that my weekly total would be 20, but I could not convince myself to get out of bed early. In fact, I had convinced myself I didn't need to run at all. But then I got up...and heard the birds chirping...and saw the sunlight coming in...and I got myself out the door before the kids could wake up. I put on my socks, shoes, hat, SPIbelt and Garmin on the porch and ate my banana as I started off down the street. The run was hard, but I really enjoyed walking home...I needed that!

I tried Pink Lemonade nuun this morning in my water bottle based on its rave reviews from RLAM. I picked up a tube of them at Luke's Locker in Dallas Thursday evening. I made it to the store with just 15 minutes to spare, but they were nice enough to work with me anyway to get me a new pair of running shoes. I've been in my current Asics for about 10 months. The first few months they shared the running duty with my Saucony pair, but from January to now, they have been my only shoes (and I know that they have 300+ miles just since then). Since I wasn't just crazy about my Asics when I first got them, I really thought I'd walk away with some other brand. And while I really liked a pair of Brooks I tried on, the arch support felt awkward on my right foot. So...I ended up with these, the Asics Gel-Cumulus 13:

I gave them a test run this morning. My right third and fourth toes went to sleep, but I think I need to work on the lacing of the shoes. Just like my others, I'm sure once they are broken in, they'll be my faves.

I put in a lot of miles this week. I had 5+ Monday and then again Wednesday for National Running Day. I posted a picture of myself post-run on the NRD Facebook page and won a Headsweats hat! I have no idea exactly which hat I won, but I'm excited anyway. It doesn't take much, does it?

Then Thursday I had to travel to Dallas for work stuff, so I hit the treadmill for 3 more miles while I was waiting for rush hour traffic to calm down enough for me to venture to Luke's (hence why I barely made it in time).

I've been having a weird crampish-like feeling in my calves. It all started a couple of weeks ago when a charlie horse woke me up in the middle of the night and stayed with me all day. Since then, I have what feels like the beginnings of a charlie horse a lot of the time. I'm taking my magnesium and eating bananas for potassium, even drinking a G2 every once in a while. It's like my muscles are fatigued. I'm going to work on them with the Stick later and see if that helps.

So, the mileage report:
Weekly: 17.3 miles
YTD: 337.2 miles

Maybe I'll hop on the treadmill for 3 or 4 this evening to put me at 20 for the week and almost halfway for the year :)

Getting stronger

I love that I actually feel stronger with each run. I couldn't run yesterday due to a sick kid, so I ran today...3 miles in 30:46. I mostly kept a 10 minute mile pace, but I had to take two quick walk breaks...so I made up for them by amping up the last mile. Every quarter mile, I upped the treadmill by .2 (so 6.2, 6.4, 6.6) to finish up. I was absolutely pouring sweat!

I couldn't seem to cool down though. I felt awfully faint and sat down in the shower for a bit (passing out would not be a good thing). Even after my shower, I was still sweating. However, once I got to school and finally cooled down, it's like my motor went into turbodrive in reverse...I was freezing! I don't know if that's a normal thing or not.

Another weird thing, I'm wondering if anyone else who runs experiences some sort of wrist pain/numbness. It seems to happen mainly when I run on the treadmill, although I've felt it after regular road runs as well. It goes away fairly quickly, but it almost feels like my wrists swell.

I also developed a blister...maybe my first. And it's in the weirdest spot. It's on the edge of my heel on the side. I felt the hotspot toward the end of my run. It's between the insole and upper of my shoe. I know, cotton socks aren't good. But I've just gotten used to them. Plus, I bought my shoes a half size larger to try and save my toenails. If I switch to synthetic socks, I'm afraid the fit will be off. Hmm...things to think about.

Speedwork stinks

I had my first speedwork run this morning, and all I can say is yuck. I only did 4x400 with 400 recoveries. I'm slow, and I kept telling myself "the only way to get faster is to run faster." Still slow, but I'm willing to stick with it to see what happens over time.

Yesterday, my Mom, sister and I headed to Luke's Locker in Colleyville to be fitted with new running shoes. I ended up in an Asics Gel Cumulus in a size 7! 7! I've never worn a 7, except when I had swollen pregnancy feet. However, I'm hoping it will keep my toenails in place. Mom ended up with an Asics Nimbus and Carrie came away with a Brooks shoe.

I actually ran this morning in a new pair of Saucony Grid Raider's that I picked up Saturday with Chad. I got them a half size larger than my old ones as well, a 6.5. There was lots of toe room this morning. I tried wearing a synthetic sock under my normal cotton one also. I liked the feel of it, but I'm not sure about wearing the two socks...still a little warm in there.

I'm still in the process of losing a toenail. I wish it'd just hurry up and fall off instead of flapping around. I'd cut it off it if wasn't just one quandrant of the nail, but since it's attached to healthy nail/toe, I don't want to mess with it.