Five more miles

Existing blisters are still giving me fits. Last night was a bit painful, but I managed to run 4 miles (almost) straight, got in 5 miles total. I had a sensation that my left toes were going numb, so I stepped off to the side to assess what the problem was.

Anyway.

5 miles this week
66 miles this month
229.25 miles this year

270.75 miles remaining

Walking (and a new reason to hate the old shoes)

Walked on the treadmill last night. Forgot to tape the back of my heel. Have a blister that stands a full quarter-inch out from the back of said heel. Swore profusely at shoes (and at self for not taping the heel) ... Damn.

4.25 miles last night.
16.25 miles this week
61 miles this month
224.25 miles this year

275.75 miles remaining

Also: since yesterday was a "walking day" (I'm trying to be smart and not run every day), I decided it should also be "toning day," which meant 20 minutes with that Southern twit on my "Firm" DVD. It also meant walking with a jerky, painful, bow-legged gait today. And this is a "running day." Crap. Stupid, stupd, stupid ...

Updating

Monday: 4 miles around the lake (walk)
Tuesday: At least 3 miles in Long Beach (walk. On the sand. The backs of my legs hate me)
Wednesday night: 5 miles on the treadmill (3 miles — nonstop — running)

12 miles this week
56.75 miles this month
220 miles this year

280 miles remaining

Saturday night

Managed to run 3 miles straight, with no breaks in between. (yay!)

Five miles total on the treadmill.

27.75 miles for the week
44.75 miles this month
208 miles this year

292 miles remaining.

Legs are tired. Good tired.

Didn't run as far or as consecutively as I wanted last night, but I sitll got in 4.75 miles. Yay.

22.75 miles this week
49.75 miles this month
203 miles this year

297 miles remaining

♫ So this is love, mm-mm-mm-mmm, so this is love ....♪

I'd had it.

I'd had it with feeling like something had been gnawing on my feet every time I ran. I'd had it with being in agonizing pain the morning after a run - after EVERY run. I'd had it with having to brace my hands on my legs to bend over and pick something up because my lower back hurt so much; with having to shuffle into the kitchen because every inch of my feet — bones, tendons, etc. — was in misery; with feeling like an 80-year-old woman for the simple crime of trying to be fit.

I'd had it.

So I decided it was time to seek counsel and to spend the big bucks.

I packed up my horrible shoes in a Safeway bag and trucked on down to Portland in search of a store that specializes in running shoes — preferably one that specializes in women's running shoes.

I found it - poured out my tale of painful woe to a patient sales girl, showed her my shoes; showed her the blisters on my feet, and got my advice. Told her what I wanted to spend, and I got it.

Runnning shoes, it turns out, are a lot like cars. The "models" change every year, and within a brand, they go by initials and numbers, and it's all very confusing.

She recommended a very nice Asics shoe with extra arch support to keep me from overpronating (which was what had been causing the instep blistering). I asked her my dumb questions, got my feet fitted for the right size, tried them on ... and bought them. In last year's model ($ave!).

I ran 2½ miles straight last night. Put in 5 miles total. And my feet felt AMAZING afterward. No chewed-up foot feeling. No aching in the bridge of my foot. No feeling like my outer ankle tendon was about to snap.

AMAZING.

This morning: No foot pain. No back pain. No leg pain. No tendon pain.

I felt amazing.

I'm in love with a blue-and-white shoe. I could write sonnets.

Anyway. 5 miles last night.

18 miles this week.
45 miles this month.
198.25 miles this year.

301.75 miles remaining

Holy hell, my feet hurt

I'm at a critical decision point. I taped up the blisters on Monday and did a test run around the block to see how good my feet felt after that (pretty good) (about a quarter-mile).

Tried to run the lake. Barely lasted a mile and a half of running (broken up with periods of walking). Made it around the lake, but limping toward the end. The tape adheres so tightly to my feet that it's like skin — skin that can be rubbed and irritated on top of my blisters. Crap. (four miles)

I did discover that, as terrible as my "cross-trainer" shoes are for running, they're decent walking shoes. Take what you can get, figure out what to do for what you don't have, I guess.

In the midst of putting laundry away, discovered that STILL nothing really fits, and whether I'm PMSing or just eating too much salt and retaining water or eating too much peanut butter (the evil-est love in my life at the moment), I'd gained back about three pounds. Damn.

Hit the gym for an hour and a half on the treadmill. (Just under 6.5 miles)

I'm calling the day 10.5 miles for Monday.

Tuesday was spent shopping and dragging my aching feet around Portland in shoes that aren't usually deemed worth of walking, but I spent the cash on some night orthotic inserts, and they wound up being actually very comfortable. I was still tired and very sore at the end of the day, but considering the 10.5 miles the day before, I think that would have been expected anyway. I'm calling the walking in Portland/Vancouver (Costco, IKEA, Lloyd Center, St. Johns) at least 2.5 miles. At least. But I was wearing a dress that isn't conducive to clipping on a pedometer, so I'll never really know.

ALSO (very important): I splurged and went to Lady Foot Locker and got fitted for running shoes that will theoretically not cripple me. My bank account, maybe. But after consulting with the girl and getting my feet measured and showing her my current shoes and my blisters and explaining what I do, I walked out with what should be an $80 solution to my problem. I think I'll still have to tape the blisters that I have right now, but the hope is that these will prevent future damage. I hope. Gosh, I hope ...

So.

13 miles this week
40 miles this month
193.25 miles this year

306.75 miles remaining

Treadmill Friday night. Moleskin fail.

According to package directions, moleskin should not be placed ON a blister; rather, surround the blistered area with the moleskin that is guaranteed to adhere all day.

All day my ass.

I'm still tinkering with ways to not blister my entire instep again. I've got a few square inches of foot space left to cede before I have to confess failure. I've had everything from moleskin to athletic tape to KY jelly recommended. We'll see ...

Anyway. I limped my way to three miles Friday night, a half-mile of that logged in limp/jog mode. Effing shoes. (I'm working on that)

15 miles this week
27 miles this month
180.25 miles this year

319.75 miles remaining

Treadmill and foot death

Dear shoes: I HATE YOU.

4 miles on the treadmill last night, two of those running.

'Til the blisters. And 'til the near-faint. Oops.

Anyway.

12 miles this week
24 miles this month
177.25 miles this year

322.75 miles remaining

Bee-yoo-tee-ful!

I spent Monday afternoon walking around the civic center circle, returning library books and dropping off mail and almost gettin run over by an asshole who thinks it's hilarious to try running over people when they have the "walk" signal. I didn't act fast enough to key his car. This time, at least.

So that was at least one mile.

Then I spent the twilight of that gorgeous evening walking the lake.

Four miles.

And then ...

Ecola State Park. Oh, my goodness. I've found Middle Earth.

Hiked to the Hiker's Camp and the lighthouse overlook there and then back, along the Clatsop Loop Trail.

Roughly three miles.


8 miles this week.
20 miles this month.
173.25 miles this year.

326.75 miles remaining

The Lake

Have I mentioned today how much I love that I live mere blocks from a beautiful lake in a beautifully landscaped park that has a path that is beutifully maintained?

Well. I do.

4 miles today.

12 miles this week.
12 miles this month.
165.25 miles this year.

334.75 miles remaining.

Days off and the lake

First, my decision:

I'm revising the goal.

500 miles for the year. I can do that. That's attainable. A thousand isn't ...

* * * * *

Holy crimeny, I was tired after that weekend.

Thank goodness for days off, and for the handy trail around the lake.

Monday: 4 miles
Tuesday: 4 miles

8 miles this week
8 miles this month
161.25 miles this year

338.75 miles remaining.

Treadmill after an absence

2.75 on the treadmill Friday night, in a sudden fit of guilt over my out-of-shapedness combined with absolute dread that I was seeing Joe the Muscle Man the next day.

Funny, though, how when I'm around him, I never really worry about my body. It's (usually, but not always) before and after that the paranoia over how much I out of shape I am and how I look takes over ...

Stupid paranoia.

So.

2.75 miles this week.
30.75 miles this month (final)
153.25 miles this year

846.75 miles remaining.

HOWEVER

*wimp alert*

I'm thinking of revising the challenge. Cutting it in half.

To 500 miles instead.

Because at this rate, that's all I'm going to get, and I refuse to spend the rest of the year beating myself up (mentally and physically) for not reaching this goal. I've got eight months left of this year, and I want to enjoy them and be (realistically) healthy and active in them. I don't want to spend them under a cloud of shame over not reaching what was already a high number at the beginning of the year.

I'll decide by the time I come back on Wednesday.