Running with Stitches, and New Shoes!

My running this week got off to a shaky start. I wasn't sure how I would fare with stitches in my thumb and a slightly sore arm from the tetanus shot, and wondered if the area around the cut was going to start throbbing when I was running. I decided to take the whole weekend off and start anew on Monday, with what was scheduled as a 5 mile run.

Well, I was feeling bad for all the eating I was doing, so I turned off the voice notifications for how many miles I had gone, set it to "Basic Run" (meaning it had no halfway point), and just ran around the neighborhoods that branched off from the main road. I ended up running 9 miles!

I ended up really paying for this later, because my legs were killing me! This was a nice and relaxed run.. I tried not to push the pace too much (because I couldn't), and there were some unexpected hills that I tackled, but overall I'm really happy with how this went.

I went to a yoga class that night, and realized I couldn't really do yoga without being able to put weight into my thumb. Stupid thumb.

:(

The 9 Miler was my last run in my pink Mizuno Wave Rider 17s that I got at Christmas! I ordered some new ones and they arrived on Tuesday.

I love the color!!

After I got my shoes on, I attempted a speed run. I decided to do a 1.5 mile warm up and cool down, and speeding up every .5 miles with a .5 mile cool-down, until I got to 5.5 miles. My dismal attempt:

There's a better look at my paces for the speed run - as you can see, I did well with the first .5 "speedy" run, but then after that one, it all just kind of looks the same. This wasn't the best run. Plus I was sore!

The shoes felt great - like new shoes should! I never had a problem with my Mizuno's, which is why I ordered the exact same model as my last three shoes have been :). I love the color change, though!

I took a day off on Wednesday, and on Wednesday night repeated to myself out loud, "I WILL wake up early to run tomorrow. I will do it."

So Thursday was kind of awesome because of how much I accomplished!

Only 5 miles, but the weather was PERFECT (64 degrees!!) and the fact that I actually got up in the morning really makes me happy. I went to a Restore Yoga class, went to Nordstrom Rack for a return, then drove to my voice lesson, afterwards going to the post office and going grocery shopping. Phew! Then I made Yeah...Immaeatthat's Spinach & Tomato Lasagna for dinner and JW really liked it! I thought it needed some spices- it seemed a little bland to me. So, if you make it, beef (hah) it up with spices!

I decided to skip today's 4 mile hill run since I don't want to over train (and ran 4 more miles than I was supposed to on Monday), and tomorrow it's my first long run since 12 miles three weeks ago - 13 miles! This'll be a good indicator of how I'll do at the Bellingham Bay Half - I'm definitely not convinced I can run it in under 2 hours, but I'm happy to be back at some higher mileage, anyways.

A little under a month until the Bellingham Bay Half!

The Day I Ran More Than a Half Marathon... For a Training Run

I can't believe I did it, but I did. I ran more than I've ever run before in one fell swoop this morning. I ran 14 miles - that's .9 miles more than a half marathon. It really honestly blows my mind!!

I ate Fage Greek Yogurt and Belvita before my run, to fuel me.

I listened to Harry Potter again while I ran, but this time kept my mind on not letting my pace drop while I listened. I succeeded somewhat, no negative splits, but the last mile was still the fastest and I kept an average of 9'38", which I'd say is pretty successful!

It was hard. I'm not going to sugar coat it and say I felt amazing or that I had a runner's high. I didn't. It was really, really hard. Breaking in my new shoes is proving to be more difficult than I had originally anticipated, and my feet are hurting because of it. My arches feel foreign (I never knew I had such high arches... now I couldn't be more aware of them!), and my ankles feel like I imagine an old woman's must feel at the end of the run.

It's getting easier to push at the end - you can see that the last three miles were progressively faster, and I think that it's because I knew it was almost over, I felt that I had the energy to push.

I had some of these Energy Chews to fuel me during my run, but I tried a different flavor - fruit punch! It was tasty. I think I definitely like these more than my Clif Shot Bloks.

I'm glad I did it, but my mind isn't lingering on that victory very long - all I can think about is 16 miles next Saturday. Ack!

Hill Run and New Shoes

Today was my first hill workout, and it wasn't that bad!

I warmed up for a mile, jogged over to the 100m hill, and ran up and down it 10 times. It really wasn't that bad. I even sprinted for a bit! The app didn't tell me to cool down afterwards, which I thought was ridiculous, so I just ran another mile-ish to cool down. I felt myself wanting to run more, but I kindly reminded myself of the fact that I had to run 14 miles this Saturday, and I found the motivation to stop. Hah!

Onto shoes! I bought new running shoes on Tuesday! OHMIGODSHOES.

My trusty Nike Air Pegasus 29's have officially clocked in 342.29 miles, and I decided it was time for me to buy some new ones. I bought them on April 8th and spent $108 on them at Luke's Locker, a chain in Texas.

The Graveyard: Nike Air Pegasus 29, Nike Air Max Moto 8, Nike Air Max Run Lite +2

Let's reminisce, shall we?

Half Marathon 2011 - wearing Nike Air Max Run Lite +2, size 8

Half Marathon 2012 - Nike Air Max Moto 8, size 8.5

I'm a little upset because I realize I never ran an actual race in my Air Pegasus 29s. My Moto 8s are actually my most seasoned running shoe: Turkey Trot 2012, Half Marathon 2012, Hot Chocolate 5K 2013, and Color Run 5K 2013.

The other day, I went to Road Runner Sports to look at running apparell. They don't have a location in Texas, so it was my first time visiting. As I was browsing, I saw that they had something called Shoe Dog. I didn't have enough time during my first visit, but after becoming a VIP member and really liking their choices, and reading Skinny Runner's post on her experience, I decided to experience it for myself.

Shoe Dog: Road Runner Sports

Shoe Dog is Road Runner Sports' unique way of making sure you get the perfect running shoe based on your specific feet, stride, arch, etc. I've never had something done that was so personalized to me, and I must say I really enjoyed it!

My findings:

YOUR PERFECT SHOE CATEGORY: Neutral Plus
YOUR PERFECT SIZE: 9 WIDTH: B

I had been running in 8s and 8.5s before! No wonder my toenail fell off over the summer. The lady fit me for a pair of insoles, molded perfectly to my feet, and had me try on a few pairs of Neutral running shoes. I tried the ASICS Cumulus 15, Nike Zoom Vomero +8, Mizuno Wave Rider 16, and the Adidas Energy Boost. It's strange - I got fitted for Neutral Plus, but almost all the shoes I tried on (except the Nikes) were only in the Neutral category. Ah, well.

Ultimately, I decided on the Mizunos! They were the most fairly priced, had the cutest color (pink!!), and I had heard great reviews for them. Plus, the lady told me they last a really long time, meaning I wouldn't have to get new shoes for a while. I'm a little surprised at how quickly I wore out my Nike Pegasus', and I don't want to repeat this 4 months later. She told me they last for over 500 miles!

So cute!

I'm just now realizing they'll clash terribly with my PRO Compression socks, so I'll probably end up getting another color. That's okay, because there's always a sale going on!

I haven't run in them yet - I'm saving them for Friday!

I've decided I love Road Runner Sports. From this trip, I bought the Mizuno shoes, 3 pairs of socks, a bottle of Nuun, and the shoe inserts. I was looking at my receipt earlier today and noticed they charged me the full amount on the socks, not the discount price they had told me they were on sale for. All I had to do was call up there - I didn't even have to drive! - and they fixed it over the phone for me. That's awesome customer service.

Ever been to Road Runner Sports?