What Doesn't Kill You...

My past few workouts at the gym have been rough! I had a long 10k run last weekend that I was able to finish although it was slow and there was a lot of run/walk/run and then walk some more. But I finished it. Well that run caused a nasty blister on the inside of my arch on my left foot. I was wearing my old running shoes for this one because I hadn't broken in my new shoes yet. So the blister wasnt totally unexpected. Since deciding a week or so ago to run a marathon in October, I had change up my workout training from a 10k training to a marathon training program. So I kinda just merged one into the other. My 10k race isn't for another month but I will be six weeks into marathon training.  Anyway, that 10k run was on Sunday. I knew I needed to take atleast a day to recover and to let that blister heal. So I pulled on my running shoes on Tuesday morning before work and tried to get some mileage on the treadmill. I was scheduled for 3 miles but could only squeeze out barely two because, dang, my foot hurt. I knew it was time to buy new running socks.

I didn't run or do any sort of working out until Friday after work. I was disappointed in myself but I knew I just need to let my foot heal or else I was going to pay for it in the end. Thursday night I went to REI to pick up some running socks. The Smart Wool PhD socks were the ones that were recommended to me so I bought a couple of pairs. I wore them on Friday's 4 mile run and I dont think there was any additional irritation on my blister. It actually looks like it is healing really well. I need tougher feet!

Friday's run was hard! It was four miles, which isn't daunting anymore but I just knew it would be hard. It was the end of a long week. I decided to hit the gym after work, figuring it wouldn't be all that busy because it was a Friday. The place was packed and I was shocked! I found myself a treadmill, laced up my new shoes and hit start on my watch. As I was warming up, I happened to glance at the machine next to me. (Don't we all do this at some point to see how we compare?) The girl next to me had 10 miles logs on her machine although I'm sure she hadnt actually run those 10 miles because she kept jumping off the belt and then back on every thirty seconds or so. It was a little annoying but I was amazed that she was running at the clip she was.

After about a mile of my own running, my legs just hurt so bad! My calves were tight and my ankles weren't flexing like they were supposed to. It was a flash back to when I first started running, when my shin splits were so rough that I couldnt flex my legs. I didn't want to be back there. It was painful! So I slowed down to a walk and then stopped to stretch some. I felt better after that. While I was trying to loosen my muscles, I got to thinking about my eating this week and how crappy it had been. Could my food consumption be why I was feeling like so much crap? Probably. I starting thinking about the changes I needed to make as far as food.

I noticed it on Saturday during the Body Flow class I took that morning. I wasnt able to hold the posses as long and my muscles were shaking. Ugh! I hate that feeling! I was feeling especially weak.

I'm not sure if I am going to get my long run in this weekend. I was thinking about possibly just getting in a really long ride on the trainer, around 25-30 miles? It would feel so good. It's hard to look outside at the white and feel that arctic air and imagine warm days of cycling and running.

On my way home from the gym on Saturday morning, I heard this Kelly Clarkson song on my radio and I couldn't keep myself from dancing in my seat. I know that the song is about a boy, as it usually is, but I felt like it made my mood better for the day. And actually inspired me to sit down on my computer and type out a couple of entries. This is being added to my iPod running list and will be played over and over again.

100th Post - A Little Music

This is my 100th post! I had hoped in the 10 months of writing that I would have done more posts than that but it's better than not posting at all.

I'm planning on hitting the pavement tomorrow morning for the first time in a week. It's been a week because of hurting my knee last Tuesday when I pushed myself a little too hard on my bike. My knee hasn't hurt since Friday. Saturday, hubby and I even walked 3 miles with no pain. But I will admit, I did take one Advil in the morning before we left, but only one.

As far as Couch to 5k, I should be doing week 6 day 3, 25 minutes of running. I wasn't able to complete the week 5 day 3, 20 minutes of running. So for now, I am just going to try to up my increments. I can do that 10 minutes of running, er jogging slowly, day. Maybe I just need to increase that each day. I would like to be able to get up to a mile straight. It's like the finish line is there, like I can almost see it but my brain gives up just a minute or two too early! Maybe tomorrow, although I shouldn't push myself too hard  and risk injuring myself again.

I was working iTunes tonight, getting my playlist to have a little more variety. I decided to add in Mr. Blue Sky by Electric Light Orchestra. I'm sure you've heard this song lately on a Glidden Paint commercial as well as in a Volkswagen commercial a couple of years ago. Hubby and I spend a lot of time listening to this song the second summer we were dating. I have no idea where he found it but we instantly fell in love with it. It's quick and uplifting.

What are you favorite songs to work out to?