A Mile or More in My [Running] Shoes

Central Park was packed tonight! There were huge running groups everywhere. It was awesome to see so many people out enjoying the weather and moving their bodies.

Sunday was a rest day and I didn’t run last night for no real reason in particular, so after two days without running I was really happy to put my shoes on and head downtown to Columbus Circle. I did my usual 3 clockwise laps of the lower loop with a pretty quick pace.

The run was great, but I’m realizing that the blisters I’ve been plagued with are more of a problem than I originally thought. As long as I’ve been running I’ve gotten blisters on my right arch. I have double layer socks that work wonders, but I’m still susceptible to blisters on long runs. I currently have 3 blisters of various “ages” on my foot. One is currently a callus, but after my long run this weekend, a new blister has formed underneath it. (I’m holding out hope that the rest of them just callus over as well…)

I was fine for the first 3-3.5 miles, but it became a bit of a nagging pain as I continued. Now, I know my feet will never be pretty, but I would like to have healthy feet and I would like to be able to run without having to worry about hobbling as I near the end. Does anybody have thoughts or recommendations? Has anybody else had problems with blisters?

…make sure to take your twice daily snort of Nasonex. As a severe seasonal allergy sufferer, you don’t have the luxury of just being able to forget things like that from the months of March-November.

Central Park was beautiful tonight. I didn’t even mind that I had to break out the long sleeves and cropped running tights again. So lovely.

Given how congested I was and how tight my chest felt, this run didn’t feel like a great run until I hit mile 4. And then I finished the run and looked at my watch. I did it again…

Tonight’s run was inexplicably fast. I really need to rein it in a bit. While I like seeing such low numbers when I plug my Garmin in, I know it’s not necessarily a good thing to run fast all the time. I think later this week I’ll run some hill repeats. (Can’t run too fast on hills.) The only thing I can point to that may have had something to do with my running like a mad woman was my afternoon spent perusing marathon training plans. I’ve got the NYC Marathon on my mind and I don’t care who knows it! 

This morning I met one of my best friends Rebecca for a training run in Central Park. Being that we’re both West Michigan girls, we both signed up to run the Fifth Third River Bank Run which is celebrating its 35th anniversary this May. This is a race that I grew up hearing about, and before I was a serious semi-serious runner, it was the only race I had any interest in running. It’s a 25k (the largest 25k road race in the country) that winds its way through Grand Rapids and along the Grand River. 

The race is a big deal in Grand Rapids and it’s not uncommon to overhear friends and neighbors checking in with one another on their training or clinics that they attended. Local businesses provide an unbelievable amount of support and charities turn out in droves to fundraise for their causes. I’m almost as excited to run this race as I am to run the NYC Marathon. The city is very proud of this race and running this race makes me feel like I’m finally a real Grand Rapidian (despite having spent most of my life there).

So, because Reb and I are running this race and because she had never run in Central Park before, we decided to get together to do our 10 miler this morning in Central Park. It was a bit chilly when we started but as we settled in it warmed up. The forecast and clouds overhead threatened rain, but it held off until about mile 8. 

Earlier this week I tweaked my groin when I slipped on a stick on my way up Harlem Hill. (I’m such a klutz.) I’ve spent every day since icing and hoping that it would heal quickly. Though I was a little apprehensive when we started today, it didn’t bother me at all until after the hills and even then it was only for half a mile. 

This was a really good run for me. It was so nice to run with Reb and chat. I hardly ever run with someone else, but I’ve found that my long runs are more bearable and go by much faster when I’ve got someone else right there with me. I feel like I have come into my own as a runner. I had myself convinced that the faster times I was posting were just a fluke, but I’m still managing to put together solid runs. I feel like I have learned when to rein myself in and when to let myself go to town. 

Now, I’m going to make dinner, which will amount to roughly the 5th meal I’ve eaten today. Long runs make me ravenous! 

I left work a little bit early today, but I was feeling flustered. I knew the only thing that would help me feel better was a run.

So I got home and immediately changed into my running clothes before I could change my mind. I arrived at Central Park with plenty of daylight to spare and started running. My initial goal was 5 miles, but I hid my watch and set out for an attitude adjustment and 3 laps around the lower loop. 

I did some awesome thinking and reasoning and I reminded myself of some pretty exciting things. For example: You’re running the NYC Marathon this year. Before I knew it, I was rounding the bottom of Central Park toward Columbus Circle for the third and final time. I took a glance at my watch as I pressed the stop button and then hit reset. (You know when you look at your phone or something to check the time and a second later you can’t remember what time it was… Yeah, I did that with my distance and time.) When I got home I plugged my little Garmin in and it was like Sunday post-race all over again…

What? How? 

I guess it doesn’t really matter, but this sudden emergence of my inner speed demon has thrown me for a bit of a loop. I’m just going to chalk this one up to pent up frustration and a much needed emotional/mental cleanse. 

So after a week of being sick and not running I went into this race with the goal of finishing. (Do not collapse on the course Caitlin.) It was pouring when I ran it last year (which probably helped to thin out the crowds a bit), and though it’s a hilly course, it’s a fun race. I also love that it’s up in my work ‘hood. It’s always nice to see so many people get out of Central Park and experience a little piece of a Manhattan they don’t see everyday. 

So let’s cut to the chase… I didn’t just finish the race. I PR’ed the NYRR Coogan’s Salsa, Blues, and Shamrocks 5k. I knew this after looking at my watch at the finish line, but then I plugged my little Garmin into my computer and I took a peek at my splits and um… what?

(7:53 split!?!??!?! Whaaaaaaaat?)

I didn’t just PR that race, I PR’ed it like a boss.

*Official Time: 26:17

So this morning I failed to wake up to run my 4-5 miles… BUT I promised myself a good ass kicking once work was over. 

I strapped on my shoes and hopped on the train to Columbus Circle. Once I got there, I ran. According to my Garmin, my first mile was done in 7:54. (Whoa Nelly!* Pull it back…) I slowed to an 8:20 pace and then realized that that was still a little too fast and then I settled in to a pace around 9:00. Three sweaty laps of the Lower Loop (5.01 miles and 43:58) later, I realized that I had completed one of my best runs to date. 

My running has been inconsistent, and I have been, well, there’s really no other word for it, lazy. If I’m going to do as well as I would like to do in my 25k, I really need to buckle down and get serious about my training. A little over 100 days to go until the Fifth Third River Bank Run and I am going to work my ass off to get a PR. (I know, I know… It’s my first 25k, automatically a PR, but I would love to break my half marathon PR time in the process.)

I’ve also upped the ante when it comes to strength training. I’ve added the Insanity workout and while I find myself wanting to switch kick Shaun T. in the balls most of the time, I’m liking the way I feel when it’s done. (Even if it means I have a hard time getting out of bed in the morning.) 

So that’s where I am with my running and everything. A bit of a bummer that I couldn’t get my run in this morning, but it seems like the extra sleep came in handy and I totally redeemed myself with tonight’s run. 

*”Whoa Nelly”??? Really? Am I 80? 

Just ran 4.07 miles in Central Park in 35:25… SAY WHAAAAT?!

I guess I must have really needed that.

Work continues to be unpleasant and stressful, so the opportunities I’ve had to go running this week have been much appreciated. Even though it was raining steadily when I got home today, I decided to man up and get out there. I love the rain and I love running in the rain. 

The run was wonderful. I went iPod-less which was probably for the best. There weren’t many people out and while I always feel safe down here, it’s probably best that I stay alert when I do my nighttime runs. I did my usual route and went out really fast. This has become a bad habit. I’m not sure if it’s just the excitement to be free of the workday and other obligations or what, but I take off like a bat out of hell… The wet leaves littering the Hudson Esplanade were a bit slick and I slowed it down after the first two miles. (I also decided to slow down because I didn’t feel like I could sustain the pace for the full 4 miles…) All in all, it was a great run and I feel much better. The stress of the day and of this week just kind of melted away. The other day when I wrote about my running being hit or miss… tonight was a hit. 

1 World Trade was lost in the fog…

After my run, I looked like a drowned rat happy, water-logged runner…

Garmin breaks it on down…

(I was actually really surprised that my Garmin picked up [and kept] a signal with all of the rain and cloud cover… *snaps for Garmin*)