Much better

I really missed running! I am glad to be back at it again, and hoping to crank out ten miles over the next week.  I think I'm going to do a shorter run Tuesday (2.5-3miles), 3 or 4 Thursday, and 5-5.5 Friday.
Today, I did 4 fantastic miles!  Nothing hurt, and my pace was pretty good at 10:14 per mile.  Hopefully, I'll get back to the 9:45 pace soon.

Busy week

After taking some time off, I hit the road Wednesday morning for a nice, easy 3 mile run.  I felt pretty good during and after.  I really missed getting out and running, but I knew I had to take a break to heal properly.
Thursday was the first day of school, and I had a half day assignment!  I am so thankful for the opportunity to substitute while the hubster looks for our more "permanent" location.  I subbed for the same teacher Friday, and have a few more days coming up.
I'm going to try and get 4 or so miles in tomorrow, so I can at least reach 30 miles for the month. Not your normal long run, but since I'm recovering, I have to rebuild my base up.  I'm hoping that the next few weeks lead to good things in running and life.

Holding off

Until tomorrow for a short run.  When I woke up this morning, my foot still hurt a little.  I'm going to hop in the hot tub tonight and pray that it feels better tomorrow.

I have determined that I don't have a stress fracture, though. I tried the jump test from runners world, and it didn't hurt.  I would hope that after 13 years of figure skating, repeatedly landing on my right foot, would make my bones strong.

Counting Down

After Monday's run, I put myself on a rest week to heal my minor injury.  My right foot has been achy, especially when it gets cold from the AC blasting all the time.  What has helped is keeping it up, wrapping it for a few days, and KT taping it.  I bought some clearance KT tape at Walmart, and have gone through almost an entire roll.  It's the regular type as opposed to the pro version, which might be why it isn't staying super stuck.  Because it isn't staying stuck to my foot, I've been taping the edges down with medical tape (see photos).  It really has been helping out though.  The KT tape has been providing support without adding a lot of bulkiness in my footwear, unlike like an ace bandage.

 

My feet look like they've been through a battle.

I plan to go out for a short run on Monday to see how things are feeling.  If they are feeling good, I'll continue with base training.  If not, then it'll be another "rest" week, and I'll be buying some more KT Pro tape.

And the winner is...

Molly Campbell!  Congrats to our winner and all who entered!  Make sure to share this page with family and friends, as I am trying to build my readership.

Day two off...

Ugh.  Taking time off is killing me (okay, not really killing).  I really don't want to have an injury since we could be moving (still a "could").  Right where our families live, there are very few jobs for chemists and even fewer for teachers.

I'm falling short on my goals...tomorrow is the half way point of the month and I have 13.86 miles done.  That's less than a mile per day.  I've been trying to do some light lifting/toning exercises with my upper body to not put too much pressure on my foot while I let it heal.

I bought some KT Tape today in an attempt to see if it might help.  I haven't applied it yet, but I'll keep you posted on how it works.

And then...

Life happens.  I have been battling this foot issue for a week now, so I have to take a break from running.  The bottom of my foot has been cramping when it gets cold and hurts after running on it.  I am currently wrapping it to provide compression and resting it, all in the hopes of getting back to running soon.  I'm hoping a week off will do the trick.

The raffle is on, and I will be giving away a pair of LockLaces™ very soon!  Please take the time to enter--it takes two minutes of your time for your name to be put in twice.

Lock laces review

First off, I had to take some time off  because my foot was in a lot of pain.  I'm not sure why since I've been scaling back my mileage the last two weeks.

So a few weeks ago, I entered a contest on Facebook to win some LockLaces™.  They were so generous that they sent me two pairs, even after the contest had ended!  I was floored by how awesome they treated me--there aren't many companies out there that act in such a customer-friendly way.

I put the hot pink ones they sent me in my shoes.  I love how bright the colors are, and the installation was really simple.  I have run with them twice now, so I feel like I can give them a fair review.  I love how I don't have to tie my running shoes anymore! I don't have to stop and retie either! The elastic in the laces adjusts to my foot and keeps them feeling snug in my shoes.  And the LockLaces™ make my shoes slip on and off extremely easy.

These would be great to put in young children's or older adults' shoes.  No tying, no bending, just awesome!

The best part--you can get a pair for free!  I'm giving away a pair.  Just follow the directions below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Ouch

So after the 5k Sunday evening, I had to drive back home.  Not the greatest idea, because I started to stiffen up while driving.  I walked around after the race, but here I am on Tuesday still sore from running.   I am laying on my heating pad on my bed trying to get some relief.

In other news, my LockLaces™ came in and I installed them in my shoes.  I really want to try them out, but my muscles are achy.  I'm hoping that a detox bath might help so I can get back out and running.

So excited to try these out!  Stay tuned for a review and another special surprise!

A Mighty Hilly 5K

Last night, I ran the Michael R Hardesty Memorial 5K.  It has to be one of the hilliest 5Ks ever.  Mile 2 was super slow, but my mile 3 was about 9:01.

I didn't decide to run until 4:00 pm yesterday, and race registration started at 5:00 pm.  The hubster and I arrived around 5:15 pm and had to wait until 7:00 for the race to start.  It was quite chilly when the race started--what happened to summer?

 The first mile was good time-wise at 9 minutes & 12 seconds.  My second mile was slower as I hit a pretty hilly section. Mile three was awesome!  I hit my stride and my pace increased.  As I rounded the corner towards the finish line, I hit an all out sprint.  

Here's some pictures courtesy of the dear hubster!

Three miles down, 57 to go

This morning I went for a quick 3.7 mile jog.  It was great to be back and running in my hometown.  It's not super hilly here, but we still have decent hills.

I have found a 10K to run, but I don't want to register quite yet.  Since finding jobs is the first priority right now, we have to be ready to move at the drop of a hat.  Which means I can't sign up for a race here until the day of.

On the downside, I have had some bad headaches the last two days.  They seem to get worse in the evening.  I think it's from all of the stress of not knowing where we're going yet.  I hate feeling like I'm in limbo, but sometimes my habit of running gets me out of those feelings.

Happy August!

Since it is a new month, I thought that I should set some goals for this month.

Goal #1--run 60 miles this month.
     This should be a pretty attainable goal, especially since I ran 50 miles in July.

Goal #2--speed up my pace.
     I'd like to get my average pace to under 10 min per mile.  Once upon a time, I had a seven minute mile.  While that isn't realistic right now, I'd like to get to 8:45 a mile.

Goal #3--run a 10K.
     I haven't run a 10k ever.  I've run 5Ks and the Disney Princess Half Marathon, but no 10Ks.  Hopefully, I will find one to ride this month.

Those are my running goals for the month.  Hopefully, the hubster and I will hit some other goals on our big-kid check list too, like getting jobs.  The only thing we can do is apply and keep our fingers crossed.