Should we try this again? Running Aug. 1-?

[GLC1968]

Last night was my first run in over a week! The last time I ran, I blistered the bottoms of my feet running on hot sidewalks barefoot. Oops.

Then last weekend we took a 3 day hiking trip, so I skipped a run or two last week to heal before the trip. The blisters were mostly healed for the trip and they didn't bother me at all while hiking.

Last night was my first scheduled run after returning. I did 2.5 miles with 1 mile in my new huaraches sandals and 1.5 miles barefoot. My pace was faster than usual, too! Unfortunately, my blisters weren't totally healed and I think I ran funny to avoid reinjuring them. I now have sore spots on the opposite sides of my foot! Oy! Luckily, no running again until Saturday and that run will have to be a short one as it'll be 95 that day. Stupid feet.

Back to swimming and biking I go...

[colby]

I ran about 3 miles with the dog today, and I wore my VFF Bikila rather than my KSOs. It was... different.

They are definitely more clacky-clacky when you walk, and you do lose a little bit of the feeling of the ground against your feet with the additional material. They are a little stiffer around the arch, but I still felt like a prancing pony when running in them just like my KSOs.

The interior barefoot feel is very nice, but they fit differently than my KSOs, too. The toe pockets seem longer, but I switched from mens to womens sizing because the Bikila were not out in my size in mens at the time, so that may have something to do with it. They are both easier and more difficult to get on - easier because the interior feel is nice, I wasn't wearing socks, they have a raised heel piece that lets you grab easier; harder because they fit a little more snugly and I don't feel like I need the strap on them at all (I have wide feet). They don't get water through the bottom like the sprints/KSOs do either - I was able to run through puddles and in grass without getting wet feet from the bottom up.

The true test was whether they marked up my feet, and sadly, yes, they did give me a blister where the arch piece comes up on the inside of the foot where the strap is and there is a seam in the shoe, it's actually more toward the top of my arch rather than deep underneath like the KSOs. I will have to try using some bodyglide there - at least it was a blister and not a hole in my foot like the KSOs and sprints give me barefoot (the sprints mark me up not in the arch, but on the outside of the foot where there's another seam in the shoe as it transitions from shoe to toe).

I really like the feel of them on the inside, I like how they fit, but I don't know that I really need the additional stability in the bottom of the shoe. It didn't really turn me off, it was just a very subtle feedback difference. I am frowny faced about the rubbing on the seams, I don't know if it's just the curse of having feet wider than shoes, if they are perhaps too big and I should try a size down (I'd be very concerned about width and fit), or if I just need to try to get used to it. I probably won't wear them barefoot for long runs, I would bet bodyglide would rub off (if that works) after several miles. We'll see.

[skhill]

School started yesterday here, can you believe it? So this morning I was dodging school buses; saw one little boy throwing a temper tantrum out there at the bus stop.

I'm rearranging my training schedule for this week-- there's no way I was going to be able to do my long run on the weekend. So today was it. Supposed to be 9 miles, but the heat was really getting to me so I cut it a mile short. Despite all the water I drank before and during the run, I still dropped 3lbs, so stopping early was probably a good idea...

Thank god for air conditioning!

[OakLeaf]

I wound up blowing off riding last night - the storm wound up missing us, but it was just too hot and too iffy to get excited about such a long drive to where the club meets. So I just did a fairly easy three around the fitness trail after my aerobics class again this morning.

Reminded me again why I hate that trail. It's got just enough elevation change that the rises are work, but they're so small that I never adjust my posture, and wind up really overworking my quads.

The nice thing about it (as long as you don't have a garden in the area ) is the deer. The trail is on the hospital campus, which is fairly large with a lot of green space, and there's a golf course just a couple of blocks away, so there are lots of deer and they're very used to humans. This morning there was a woman sitting out in a wheelchair in front of the nursing home right next to the trail, and a big doe was RIGHT next to her. The doe was there for at least 10 minutes, when I came around the second time. Close by in the woods, lying down, there was a small buck in velvet (I'm guessing her yearling son) and a spotted fawn.

[Crankin]

Since I am back to walking instead of running, I guess I can post here. I'm walking 2x a week. Since I've ridden about 140 miles since last Saturday, I am tired. Today was supposed to be a rest day... maybe some yoga and a brief walk. But somehow, I thought it would be cool to walk to the North Bridge. I know it's just under eight miles RT to the town center and this would be a little shorter. It's relatively cool out and partly cloudy, but still a bit humid.
I enjoyed seeing the road from a walker's perspective, rather than from my bike. There's a lot of interesting colonial era homes along this route, that have been restored. So, I got to the National Park visitor center and since I had to go to the bathroom pretty badly, I went to go into the museum; but the door was stuck! I knew it wasn't closed, but I just couldn't open the door. Finally someone came out and I scurried in. I guess the humidity had swollen the door. Then I sat on a bench and ate half a Luna Bar and watched the tourists. Oy, too many pot bellied old guys wearing fanny packs, so I headed out. But, I decided to take slightly different route back, which added about three quarters of a mile. It was getting near lunch time, so I picked up the pace. My hips and groin were feeling it and the last 2 miles weren't so fun, although it totally clouded over and that was good. I counted cyclists and looked at the people driving by in cars. Normally I walk at a 4-4.2 mph pace, but today's walk was about 3.2-3.5. It probably ended up being about 7.3 miles.
Now I am more tired than I should be for a rest day.

[yellow]

Hi all! I'm out here running as cycling is still a bit too painful.

I'm back up to about 30-35 mpw right now, mostly running but sometimes I just have to hike for a while. And I am way, way slower (which I'm actually kind of enjoying). My back feels fine most of the time when I run, but I am having some challenges with the connective tissue in my legs--working through it (I had a wee little blood clot and the ramifications of that are still kind of giving me grief). I am training for an event in September (Imogene Pass Run), but suspect that I will do a lot of walking at said event.

[OakLeaf]

Welcome back Yellow!

Well, I said today's 17 would be my make-or-break for whether or not to do the marathon, and I guess I'm in. It was really hot and I took it slow, but I feel pretty much like I ought to feel after 17.

The stupid part was that I missed a turn somewhere and wound up way farther from home than I could get back before I ran out of water and energy, so I had to call DH for a ride. D'oh. I'll figure out where I went wrong, but I won't use the route I planned again anyway. It took me through something that was marked as a road on the map, but it actually seemed like it was a farmer's lane that connected his house and barn to two parallel roads. I didn't see anyone home, but there was a pickup truck parked outside - hope I didn't startle anyone.