So it's summertime, and because it's summertime I'm never in town. I didn't realize I would be travelling THIS MUCH but I guess I am! I've been to Yosemite (got some monster blisters there), Tahoe for a wedding, Salinas to visit family, Stockton to visit kitty and/or significant other, Sacramento for IKEA trips and games, Moraga to BBQ with friends AND to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 on IMAX 3D! Not to mention I've also been driving all over Sonoma County for various Team In Training Saturday long runs.
Training for the half marathon has been going well. I've been successfully increasing my mileage steadily and building up my endurance. I have nothing that can be called speed right now, but I have time to work on that and will be going to track practices from now on.
I minorly injured myself a couple weeks back (tendon to the inside of the achilles) and decided to take a week and a half off of running to let it heal, and in the meantime I found KT Tape. I gotta tell you, this stuff is amazing! It comes in all sorts of pretty colors, is super fun to play with and it really does wonders with supporting and easing pain most anywhere on your body. I ran with some tape on my ankle today just for a little extra support just in case my tendon still felt weak, but I had no pain at all and it was great!
I've also been experimenting with different GU flavors and products. I know I won't be able to down any solids, so I stuck with the gooey versions of energy packs, and decided that the one I liked best so far was the Strawberry Banana flavor with no caffeine. It was really easy going down and not at all overpowering or lingering like the other flavors were. If I had to go for a second best I would say Espresso Love, especially for before-run fueling. I'm not sure how that one would work out mid-run, but it was tasty in the morning before heading out.
One thing about training with the TEAM is that I'm still afraid I'll be judged for running barefoot. I've been wearing VFFs for all the TEAM trainings (which have all been long runs so far) and they've accepted that I run in them but I feel like if I just started running barefoot at team trainings I would have coaches to answer to. I don't mind running in VFFs but my main concern is blister development.
Two weeks ago (8 mile run) I developed huge blisters (multiple) on my left foot because it was warm outside, thus sweaty feet, and we were running on the side of a road so the pavement was tilted and I was running on a slant most of the time. I think this was the main factor in the blisters as well as the messed up tendon afterwards. I got one minor blister today while running 9.5 miles in my Sprints, but I'm just worried that every Saturday is going to be a new blister. It's tearing up my feet more than barefooting ever did.
Anyway, I'm excited to keep running and to build more endurance for the race. I'm about 20% away from meeting my minimum fundraising requirement, so I've gotta get that finished up too! Here's my fundraising page.
Until next time...
