Whoops, almost forgot Wednesday

My hamstrings have been bugging me for the past few days and I was a little bit reluctant to do my scheduled six miles on Wednesday. I eventually decided to head out and play it by ear; I could always walk if I had to. I am happy to report that things went well. I didn't have to take any walk breaks outside of my normal ones (one minute walk for every two miles) and my hamstrings were just fine.

I ran on the Houghton Canal Road and despite the mile-long climb around mile 3, I was able to keep my splits under 11:00 the entire way and I only ended up slowing down around 30 seconds per mile during the climb. In truth, I thought it was going to be worse than that, so I'm pleased.

I'm heading to The Bike Shop tonight to take a test ride on what I'm hoping will become my new road bike. Tomorrow, I have a scheduled seven mile run then we're heading to Marquette to be touristy and tour the Tilden Mine. I should note that in order for me to get my run in before we leave, I have to get up at 5:00AM. Joy!

Slow six

I ran a slow 6 miles this morning after the 26 miles on the bike yesterday.

My legs were a little tighter in the beginning than they usually are, hence the slow first mile. I did end up making it 75% up the Shopko hill before I had to stop, rather than my usual 50%. I'm sure it was because of the snail's pace I was running. That's pretty cool, but I'd rather keep my speed up.

I was worried about the traffic on M-26, but it was fine. I think I saw three or four cars the entire time I was out. I battled a strong head-wind all the way to Old Mill Road not to mention the humidity, which had to be around 80%. Whew.

Weekly summary:
Run - 14.25 miles @ 11:17
Bike - 33.70 miles @ 11.7 mph



That's it for the week.

Six on Saturday

I did a nice, easy six miles this morning. I got up at 6:00 AM (horrors!) hoping to be out the door in 30 minutes, but it was still raining and windy so I waited until 7:00 to head out. I love running in the early morning hours when the rest of the world is still sleeping. It makes me feel very empowered.

So, on the foot front: my feet are pretty tender at the moment. I've been taping my big toes and putting tape on all my tender spots (note to self: buy stock in the medical tape company). I've decided that I should make note of my taping and sock wearing after each run to see if I can pin down what's going on.

So...

socks - blue Smartwool micros
tape - big toes, one piece underneath

Result: no blisters, tender spots but not as bad as Wednesday

I also discovered that a pre-run breakfast of a Pemmican bar bar + tea equated to a gastrointestinal "situation" which caused me to race to the restroom of the Citgo station around mile 3.5. The ensuing guilt for using the bathroom but not making a purchase is enough to remind me to never do that again!

Randomness

Six miles tonight at an average pace of 10:41/mile.

Then, 45 minutes of walking with Josh. He is in dire need of new shoes.

I got a big, nasty blister on my toe from the tape I was using to protect another blister.

One day I'll figure out the trick to taping existing blisters without causing new ones.

I glanced at my numbers for last week. 22.5 miles of running and walking. Jeepers, it's a wonder my legs haven't fallen off yet.

I bought two more pairs of the world's best running shorts. Bonus, they were on sale for 25% off.

I went to the dentist this morning, no cavities. Yahoo!

Garage sale is in three weeks. I have much to do.

p.s. the other night....we went to Schmidt's Corner :-D