One last thing before I get into my runs. I've been giving the marathon a lot of thought this week professionally and I want to get my chefs/restaurants more involved in Marathonmania. I spent a good portion of the morning making an "at a glance" runner's nutrition guide to get the creative juices flowing and I. Learned. Who knew Bison meat was a great source of protein AND LEAN?! Beet juice can help you build your endurance by drinking it (I know this will be a product I buy, try once, forget about it, and throw out 5 months later when I see it in the back of my fridge BUT I'M STILL GOING TO BUY IT NEXT TIME I'M AT THE STORE). Eggs, uh hello, protein! And one of the biggest mistakes runners make is not having enough protein intake on a daily basis. Food, who knew?! So my goal for this weekend is to make a Bison Meatloaf with some homemade Gnocchi (potatoes are also a great source of carbohydrates with vitamins and whatnot). I may or may not be stealing a Bison meatloaf recipe from one of my restaurants (hint: I am). If I am successful, you'll get to hear all about it. If I'm not, I'll say I opted not to make it. Ahhh the wonder of the internet and it's capacity to aide in lying.
Wednesday, 4 miles, 4pm, rainy-warm (HUMID), sidewalks clear
I've had a BUSY week. I'm truly surprised and proud of myself that I actually made the time to get this run in. I had meetings every 1-2 hours from 8am-3ish. I had a "socializy" meeting at 6pm. I don't wake up any earlier than I need to, so I wasn't going to get up and run/shower before 8. I RUSHED and got home around 4:30 and was on the road by 4:43. 4 miles. Boom. Now in my quickness to get ready for this run, I grossly overdressed. It was rainy outside, and even though it wasn't very cold (at all) there was still a chill that stuck to me from the walk to my house from my car. My heat was also still in "cold" mode (from 9am-5pm the heat drops..save them $$$). I wore both my fleece headband and super cool neon orange running gloves. At about minute 3 I came to the sobering realization of my mistake. And yes, I am definitely one of those people who's faces get RED. Very red. The culmination of my run came in the last 1/2 mile. The route I take for (basically) every distance starts at the bottom of a 1/3 mile hill, so I start by going up it, and end with a nice downhill (I'm a genius). When I start the descent no matter how tired I am or how many miles I've put in, I always get a last "oomph" and sail down. Well I was about to batten down the hatches and raise the sails (?) when I saw a young gentleman making his way up the same hill...he was also grossly overdressed. It was like looking into a mirror—a mirror that changed stride, gender, and form. He looked up at me, cheeks ablaze, sweat glistening beneath his headband. I looked down at him, with my fiery hue, and we locked eyes. We both knew. We gave each other an understanding headnod, and as quickly as we were connected, we passed each other, much likes the sands of time. These truly are the days of our lives.
Brace yourselves: I HAVE NEWS. Now as you all may know I'm a big fan of the Smartwool sock (which I KNOW I still need to go into more detail, but perhaps an all sock post is in order)(my GOD does that sound boring), but I forgot about my first love. We've been together since high school, and I had all but cast him aside as I frolicked the streets with Mr. Smartwool. Wrightsock, I'm truly sorry. When I was getting ready for this run I was low on what you may call "clean clothes" and all my smartwool socks were dirty (some even 2 time use dirty...don't judge). I dug around my sock drawer HOPING I could find a stray Smartwool somewhere, but alas, nothing. I saw a pair of wrightsocks catching my eye and I just thought "what the hell." Well, really I thought "YOU HAVE NO TIME! GO GO GO GO!" So I put them on—sans bandages—and worried endlessly as I was running. I got to the first mile and realized I had no pain (awesome). I got to the 2nd mile and still nothing (holy crap). 3rd mile I was soaring in the clouds with happiness, but still cautious because I knew if I thought nothing would happen, it would definitely start hurting. I am happy to say I finished my run, all 4 miles IN WET WEATHER, with nary a hint of a blister. This is the first time I've experienced this in months. I was so hung up on the SW (Smartwools, this is just easier and I'm sick of the word already) because last year when I was "training" for the half marathon (I did the 5k, around March I decided I'd rather causally run then keep training. I'm a real go-getter), I had my same blister problem, and after a trip to Gazelle, I was prescribed SWs, and they definitely did the trick.
So how do I proceed? SWs? WSs (wrightsocks....get it?)? A new expensive type of sock I don't know about?! I'm just getting so frustrated with my blisters, and every week all I think about is my long run, and whether or not I'm going to be in pain. Let's hope some new shoes cure my woes...or at least minimize them?
Thursday, 6 miles, 5pm, light rain/snow, chilly, sidewalks clear
I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I may have to stop giving the sidewalk updates because SPRING IS IN MY SIGHTS. But I've learned no smart Michigan resident ever EVER banks on any type of nice weather in March. (but still...exciting!). I had ALMOST as much blister success during this run as yesterday's run, but around mile 4 I could start to feel it a little. I ended the run with minor pain, but blister nonetheless.
There wasn't really too much to this run honestly. I mentioned this before, but it's really nice to be able to knock out a 6 mile run in the middle of the week like it's nothing. It was just a few months ago when I had to pump myself up for a LONG 6 mile run for the week. Something that did stand out is while out, I noticed it's fashion season for the runners apparently? The weather is starting to warm up, and I think everyone is just ready to wear their new duds. But it's all neon and fluorescent. Oranges and yellows that hurt the corneas, strange greens that jump out. It certainly was eye catching.
On a different note, I came across 2 fun running blogs that may be of some interest:
- Confessions of a Drive Thru Runner Think of it as "Super Size Me" + Training for a Marathon. Actually, that is EXACTLY what it is!
- Borgess Run Camp This is the run camp in town that I'm not participating in because my love of sleep...and solitude? Anyhoo, it's fun, funny, and informative (and there's less talk of blood, poop, and blisters)
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