Blisters and Tourists

Ten miles went by fairly painlessly on Saturday, although I must say I made a few mistakes. Overall it was a nice day to run and I was glad to have slept in, though I missed the companionship of my fellow team runners. Just a few points…

1. Just before I started out on my 10 mile run (first time I’ve ever completed this distance solo, might I add), I went to Fleet Feet and bought myself new running shoes. When I tried them on, I felt like I was walking on clouds. Instead of heeding the advice of my coaches who tell us never to run more than 5 miles in new shoes, I put away my old shoes in the shoebox and wore my new purple ones for the run. The new shoes solved the problem of aching knees, but around mile 8 I felt the chafing on the back of my heels. Sure enough, when I took of my shoes after the 10th mile, I had two huge blisters. Lesson learned.

2. I should have planned the timing of my run a little better. At 3pm when I started out, the sun was hot and the humidity had risen to its height for the day. I knew it wasn’t an ideal time of day to tackle 10 miles but I wanted to get the miles on my new shoes. It wasn’t that bad outside – the temp was perfect, actually, but the direct sun bothered me a little after mile 6, and the humidity was inconvenient. Another thing about timing – crowds of people. Instead of running a steady pace with my teammates, stopping for water breaks and calorie intake at the assigned TNT water stops, I darted in and out of tourists on every leg of the trail, and waited in line at mobile refreshment stands to pay $3 for a 12 ounce bottle of Aquafina. Because of these factors, it took a lot longer than I expected to finish the run. And, because I didn’t eat while I was running like I normally do, I was starving at the end. Another lesson learned.

While I wish I had more to write about this experience, I do not. I feel glad to have put in the effort, but it just isn’t the same without the support of my teammates. I counted down the miles while I was running, which made the entire experience more physical than anything mental. I plan to correct this on Sunday for a nice ‘recovery’ run somewhere a little less crowded.

Sorry for the boring post.