A Fool and her running - week of April 7

[colby]

Epic April Running Thread Check-In for this weekend, I did nearly 14 miles in about 2:20 on Sunday at my "mostly comfortable but not lollygagging forever heart rate". The first 3 miles I did at "dog pace" (as in, run 9-10 minute miles then stop and pee, stop and poo, stop and sniff/pretend-to-pee every so often, then decide you've had enough running and be drug or require coaxing for the last mile - she hates heat+sun), the last 11 were averaging 9:30 miles except walking and eating every 30 minutes for 1-2 minutes. Weather was warm, in the 70s, perfect when the sun was behind the clouds. Did a different route than usual for the 11 miles, nice to do something different, but not much sun protection. (Neutrogena SPF 70 to the rescue!)

After that, I did 4 sets of marching, skipping, hopping, butt taps, running and walked the rest of the way home.

Soreness: the usual "barefoot" spots in my lower calves which are fine 24 hours later, a little bit of shin tenderness, and my hip flexors (though I think the hip flexors are sore from the 3:30 bike/2 mile run brick I did the day before, not the 14 miles of running).

Blisters: A little super minor blistering (as in, not there after sleeping on it) on the outside of my foot but NONE between my toes or under my callous. I need to do a little more foot care, but getting rid of most of my big callous under my right big toe has helped - it's an occasional hot spot, not a sore spot or blister zone anymore. Hooray!

Went to the chiro today. It was the best chiro visit I have had in literally 2-3 years. He did some maintenance adjustments but no major issues in my pelvis, low back, hip, knees, ankles, shoulders, etc. And all that after my brick and then long run... hooray again! I should have pushed my visit out a couple of weeks but I wanted a fact check on what I thought was a body in really good condition. It was kind of surreal being told my training load was "just right" when we're talking about 15 hours a week here, but I guess my body has finally begrudgingly accepted that we ARE doing another Ironman in 68 days.

Last week my massage guy said the FiveFingers were "a positive addition" to my training regimen. They have made a significant difference in my recurring hip and pelvis issues and shin splint problems. At this point I am fairly confident I will try to run Ironman in them. I am honestly more afraid to go back to shoes and hurt myself.