Day 129: 11 Miles

Oh my gosh just when you think the pain can't be any worse! Ouch! Well, up until about mile 6 or 7 everything was great, I was cruising along. Good pace, feeling great.

Then the burning sensation on the bottom of my feet started to kick in. And then those nasty blisters. By mile 9 I could feel something terribly wrong with my left foot where the blisters had been such an issue. Even with Moleskin applied (an adhesive applied to reduce runner's blisters, looks like a band-aid) I removed my shoes and saw the damage. Not only regular blisters but a huge blood blister. Very painful. Very sore.

I was also experiencing terrible chafing as I bought a running skirt to try running in instead of my running leggings. It didn't work for me and I have rashes in between my thighs -- you know where the flubber rubs together --- really pretty image isn't it! Anyway I think I'll stick to my running leggings!

But despite these issues, I made the 11 miles! Of course I thought I might collapse, but I didn't. Had a very hard time recovering this afternoon, but after sitting on ice (which I am doing as I write this post), I'm slowly starting to feel better.

Funny thing is, my body feels pretty damn good for taking a pounding like that. Yes the usual lower back and nerve pain, the burning on the soles of my feet, the rashes betwee my legs, and of course the blisters, but my heart never gave out, my breathing was very good throughout the run and it wasn't a tired feeling I had at all, it was a pain issue.

So with the Disneyland Half Marathon coming up in two weeks my mission is to address the blisters issue. Might require purchasing new wider running shoes, applying more Dr. Scholl's Moleskin , not really sure.

I am having anxiety about the race though. I was hurtin' as we completed 11 miles and I was thinking how the heck will I be able to run two more miles to the finish line? Hopefully adrenaline and the excitement of the Disneyland venue will carry me those last two miles. I certainly hope so!

Mickey & Minnie I hope you'll have a lot of energy for me come race day!

Day 124: Challenging To Recover

Did the BIG Run this morning. Met my friend and athletic trainer Melody Roset (www.makotraining.com) at 6 a.m. this morning at Santa Monica Beach for our 10 mile run. It's almost cocktail time now and I'm still sore! Oh my gosh! I've been sitting on ice half the day.

My MoleSkin (an adhesive type band aid that prevents blisters) did not work and I have huge blisters on both feet. To help with today's recovery I took myself to get a pedicure. Felt great to have my feet massaged, but the blisters are still there. Very painful. The lower back, hips and tushy are still aching a lot! I plan on taking two Tylenol PM pills tonight to ensure that I can sleep with all the pain. A good night's sleep should help.

Now I know many of you are thinking, "Why the hell is she putting herself through all this pain!?" The answer is because I have a goal to run the Los Angeles Marathon next March - one month before my 50th birthday. Reaching your goal doesn't always ensure that the process will be easy or seamless. I know that training this hard and pushing my body this much would come with a lot of aches and pains. You can't expect to go from running no miles to 26 miles without discomfort.

So today was Mile 10. I did fine for the first 7 miles, but after that the body was giving me a lot of lip. I walked and ran the last 3 miles which is a very respectable way of training. There are many people who only train with the walk/run method.

Time-wise I am doing okay. Not that I am running to be competitive or have a great time showing. On Labor Day Weekend I am running in the Disneyland Half Marathon which only allows participants the opportunity to run up to a 16 minute mile for the entire 13.1 miles. So that is about 3 and a half hours. After that they close the track. This is done to prevent people from registering for the race with the intention of walking it. Walking is NOT the same as running. Two different types of exercise. They want real runners to participate in this race.

On the short runs I can run a good time mile, but since we are going for distance, not running sprints, I am at 13 minute miles. If I can keep this pace for the next 10 days I should be able to finish the race in the required time allotment. And ya all thought I was just goin' out for a leisure run!

So I'm sitting on ice while I compose this post... and hoping my body will recover well enough to go out on Sunday and run again!

Call me crazy, but I love the challenge and the goal! Run Robyn Run!