Lessons Learned

So I almost forgot to mention an old friend of mine came out during my 8 mile run. A friend I like to call...ARCH BLISTERS! I could start to feel it around mile #5, and it's only on the right foot! Well I didn't care about it by the time I got home because, y'know, I ran 8 miles. I was a little worried about it when I was getting ready for my 3-mile run, but I had bought these "blister" blister protector pads earlier this winter (they're these weird plastic blister pads that you stick over real blisters that act like the blister so your feet don't get them...or something? I don't know, they looks weird and feel even stranger...see below)

Guess how much those cost. $12. And there are only 6 pads in the pack. THAT'S $2 A POP!

So the run starts off rather unsettling-ly because there's a fake blister over your REAL blister (stay with me, I'm getting very meta) but then you eventually forget about it. Well, you forget about it until your foot starts to hurt because the DAMN blister pad is SLIPPING and MOVING out of place because the adhesive is WEAK and CHEAP. What happened to the good ol' days when $2 meant something?! What has happened to this country! I want to live in a world where a girl's fake blister on top of a blister protects the original blister! (sidenote, Shawshank Redemption is on tv right now—for maybe the 15th night in a row—and it's the "Brooks was here" part. Great movie. Not see-15-times-in-a-row movie, but still). I have another line of defense ready for when I get new shoes (which I believe should be in about 2 weeks or so...maybe even sooner on account of the...unpleasantness). Behold: Heat Moldable Custom Footbeds. Boo. Ya.

Oh hey, remember that $12 I spent on blister pads? Well these suckers were $45!!! W$@%&H!!!

That's right. You stick these puppies in the oven until they're mold-able, then you put them in your shoe (or in my case NEW FUTURE SHOE) and they magically mold to your sole. Hopefully eliminating the dreaded arch blister. But hey, the anti-blister products don't stop there (don't worry). But enough about the past, let's get back to tonight's REAL entry:

Oooooooh man. Not only have I seen enough dog poop to last me until the next millennia (or at least until real spring), but I have also learned a lesson in choices. Let's take a walk, shall we?

Wednesday, 5 miles, sidewalks clear but puddle-y, sun shining proudly at 5:30!
I was still riding my high from my 8-mile, 3-mile runs earlier this week, so I was excited to go for a run (plus it was like 45 degrees out...which is like drop dead summer hot in Michigan terms for February 16), but I was still a little anxious about the 5 mile distance. 5 is going to be my norm for off-runs (you know, not long runs), 5's, 4's and 3's. At least for a few weeks, then I'm sure it'll be like 8's and 17's, because I'm running an f'ing marathon! But I digress.... On my way to work I stopped at Walgreens to pick up another solider for the frontline to fight my battle that is blisters. I picked up the following:

Blister Bandaids $4.99 for a pack of 10. $0.50 each, not too shabby.
Waterproof Athletic Tape. $2.99 for 5yds. $0.60 per yard.
Cheapest blister-related purchase to date.

On my drive home from work I was scoping out the sidewalks to see the yeay or nay factor of my planned route and I'll be damned if I couldn't pay attention to the sidewalks because I say a man running in shorts and a SLEEVELESS SHIRT! Ok, now I know us Michigan people freak out at the slightest sign of "warmth" but sleeveless?! C'mon! (Hypocrite alert: I was talking to my friend Andrew who lives in Washington, DC the other day, and he was saying how silly it was that as soon as it hits 50 degrees there people act like it's so warm. I told him that if it was 50 here I'd be running around in a bikini having the time of my life) So fast forward to me "suiting up" for my run. I go to grab my normal outdoor running pants and I realized "holycrap! I can actually wear calf-baring pants!" And bare my calves I did. It felt SO liberating to wear something that was a tinge of not crazy cold layering-clothes. I also popped that bandaid blister on m'foot, covered it with a square of gauze type cloth (leftover in my medicine cabinet from past arch-blister related concoctions), and taped it all up to prevent moving. Yep, I added about 1/2 inch thickness to my foot. Whatevs. I hit the road and then I started to run...and learned something new. Apparently dog owners do not like to pick up after their dogs while there is snow on the ground. Well when it's 45 degrees outside, the snow starts to melt, and the once-frozen poop that was nestled in the sweet frosty bosom of jack frost starts to reveal itself. Everywhere. I must have ran past at least 70 piles of dog shit. Good thing I look down while I run (which I'm still not sure is a good thing or a bad thing, but look at the ground I will continue to do), because I dodged all (at least I hope I did...yikes). Another thing I learned was that first warmth of the winter season brings upon what I like to call "amateur hour." Now, don't get me wrong, I don't think of myself as an expert by any means, but I'll at least give myself the credit that I've been around the block a handful of times, and I know how to DRESS APPROPRIATELY FOR THE ELEMENTS! "Oh hey, it's finally nice outside, I'm going to start my New Year's Resolution of getting in shape and today is the first step toward my goal to fit into those slacks I've been holding onto for the better part of my adulthood!" During this thought apparently the common sense part of the brain never chirped up saying "um...steve? yeah, while I totally support you in your new journey, let's work together to find the most weather-friendly outfit for this jaunt." We had ol' Sleeveless McGee and Tank Top McGinley just jogging away, trying as hard as they could to look like they weren't cold BUT SO OBVIOUSLY WERE, but the worst was Ms. Fleecey Anderson. This girl was not only overdressed, but everything was BAGGY and made of FLEECE! First we had a fleece hat atop her head (and if you have ever gone running outside, you know that it takes a COLD day to wear a hat, let alone one made of fleece. Hats hold in SO much heat and should be operated with caution), a big fleece hoodie (it could have been a snuggie, I wasn't paying close enough attention), oversized fleece sweatpants just SOAKING up all the melted snow puddles that riddled the sidewalks, and thick fleece gloves. So. Much. Fleece. Not only was she weighed down by at least 16lbs of extra snow-water weight affixed to her snuggly outfit, but her cheeks were RRRRRRRRRRRED! Oh MAN I don't know how she could even breathe in that little get up. Or better yet, what the f she was thinking when she got ready to go for a run. Oh, yeah, I also saw a couple riding a tandem bike with the woman (who was on the back seat) acting as the blinker with her outstretched arms. Yes, they do exist. But anyways, I got home and my arch really hurt from all the extra girth (ew I know, that word is gross) I added to it as protection, but I do believe the blister didn't get any worse, so, go me!

That brings us to tonight. Up until now I have only run 3 times a week (with the exception of last week when it was only 2 times). Now the running schedule I have is 4 times a week (plus I train at the gym 2 days a week), and I've never actually made it all 4 times. I always get to 3, and that's it. After yesterday I was so excited to run a quick 3 miles tonight since my long run this weekend (10 miles!) is a must, plus it was even warmer! 52! But here we come into the choice territory. I was at work (I work with restaurants, have I mentioned that?), at one of the restaurants, and I stayed later than I thought I would, and then I ate some tasty raw bar (oysters, shrimp, and ahi tuna...mmm), and I have this weird thing (oh I know, what? Erica was a weird quirk about herself when it comes to ANYTHING?!) that I can't eat 2 hours before I go for a run. Even at work I know I can't eat snacks after 3pm if I'm running right when I get home. SO after I ate I went out with a friend, but only had 1 drink, and now here I am, home at a decent hour, ready to watch Shawshank's 15th encore and the new 30 Rock, but un-run'd. I am SO disappointed in myself. Remember when I mentioned Runner's Guilt? Well, hoowe, I've got that. And the worst part? I didn't even do anything wrong. There's plenty of time left in the week to run that coveted 4th time, but you know what? I know that I won't. And if I do, I'd surprise and impress the hell out of myself. If I'm going to keep this up I'm going to have to find a happy medium between work and play. I know I'm going to start having to run in the morning (gasp!) once the weather gets a little nicer. And that will probably be a good thing, well, it'll be a great thing, actually. I'm sure. But at the rate I'm going if I run, I don't do anything else. If I don't run, I go out and feel TREMENDOUS guilt. I've decided something today (well, this may be what John refers to as "girl plans" when one declares something and are EXTREMELY serious about achieving it...and that's where it ends. You often see this late nights at bars when girls are talking about hanging out in the future, going on trips together, or planning an event "no! We're going to do it!"). I want to plan my vacations around races. I want to visit my friends in DC, well hey! There's a marathon-relay and/or half marathon in June. Why don't I run the race, and then stay a few days for friend-fun-time?! I don't have to feel bad when I don't run the entire time I'm with my friends because hey! I just trained for and ran a race, rest/celebration time! We have friends in Austin, San Fransisco, and Portland we want to go visit. Well, whatdya know, there are races of all distances all throughout the year! I'm not worried about too much "Racing" since my "Races" are more like "runs," and by "like" I mean "are." I'm sorry, I'll stop using "quotations." What is discouraging is that I spent time today researching all these races, and I got SO excited! And yet I couldn't turn those feelings into a run. Yeah, I'm being hard on myself for no reason, but this is my sounding board, and sound sounds I shall. Blisters, guilt, dog poop, and fleece. Just another 2 days in the kooky mind of a lackluster runner.