How in the hell Pheidippides ran the first marathon sans headphones is beyond me.
It’s tough to grasp that fact that 2 weeks from today, Seawheeze 2016 will be OVER! Between the preview of the showcase gear, the check-in information from our Airbnb host all ready to go, the trip I’ve had on the calendar for 11 months is almost here. I’ve even started to get a packing list together, given that I’m taking a few days of vaca on the way home before dealing with the real world again.
I begrudgingly ran a 6 miler today. Some potentially expensive HOMEOWNER PROBLEMS surfaced on Friday morning (let’s just say something upstairs caused a puddle on the dining room table via the light fixture in the ceiling), and so yeah I’ve been distracted from training and unhappily dropping the $$$ I was going to let myself spend at Seawheeze sans guilt on things like a new washing machine… and all the installation costs and inspection and mitigation of any mold this stupid leak may have caused.
I have a feeling this is going to get expensive. I’m still going to buy things at Seawheeze, but I may not allow myself to be as recklessly spendy as I anticipated. At least all this sh*t went down on the first weekend I’ve been home in 7 weeks, so I was actually in the home zip code to deal with it all. Silver lining.
I digress.
As I posted somewhat recently, I’m still trying to figure out how to run blister-free on race day. It was overcast and only in the 80’s today, plus I took the time to stretch for a good 30min prior while binge-watching Chelsea on Netflix all morning and afternoon. This led to my running the best-feeling 6(ish) miles I’ve gone in a long time.
I say 6(ish) miles because MapMyRun claims I went 6.47. I’d love to take that figure to the bank, but MMR also claimed my last half-marathon was 14 miles. It’s great that it thinks I go farther than I really do, so it makes my splits sound faster and gives me a nice jolt of self esteem. However, knowing that it’s a bit far off from the truth makes you wonder. Kind of like how I’m a 10 anywhere else, but sometimes I can still buy something from LOFT that says 6 on the tag. Whatever.
I think my shoes are too small. The blisters/irritation I’ve been getting on 5+ mile runs happens at the end of my toes. Thanks to genetics, I’ve got evil bunions that push my toes outwards. What I don’t understand is that I ordered the same shoes in the same size as the last pair I ran a half in and DIDN’T have this problem.
Anyway, I know feet swell during long distance running. I’ll admit that when I hit up Fleet Feet for a stride/gait analysis in 2013 (the same fateful shopping trip that I took my first sip of the lululemonade), they put me in a 9.5. I’ve worn a 9 for my entire adult life. They felt a bit roomy, so the next pair of running shoes I got, I went down to my usual 9 and didn’t have this issue.
This is frustrating. I know that as long as I stretch and hydrate properly, I am going to get through the 13.1 miles perfectly fine, AS LONG AS I DON’T GET ANY BLISTERS. The running (who are we kidding, it’s jogging) part of today felt great.
So, with less than 2 weeks out I will be taking my 3-year-old Brooks Ghost 5’s out for a spin. If they don’t hurt, then I either buy some new shoes so close to the race, or prance through Vancouver in some vintage kicks. We shall see, we shall see.