So Saturday morning was my first long run in 2 weeks (as I climbed the Columbia Tower in Seattle last weekend and was nursing a hip injury). As I mentioned in an earlier post, it was time for me to get myself a pair of road running shoes for the marathon and to break them in. I do not know if it is just the fact that my feet are now "callused runners feet" or that I happened upon a marvelous shoe, but after wearing them for the first time on a 2 hour run in continuous rain showers, I could not feel nor find a single blister on my feet! And my feet were wet the entire time! I love my trail running shoes but as I began to run longer, I developed bruising on my toes and blisters. I just totally am amazed I did not develop any wearing these shoes for the first time!
By the way, my shoes are the ASICS GT-2140 from REI.
Although I got up at 6:30 am (an hour later than intended), I did not get to the paved Sammamish River trail in Redmond until 10:15 am. Being my first long run in 2 weeks and my first run on pain medication after my hip became severely painful after some shorter runs earlier in the week, I was sort of hesitant to get out and a little anxious. As a result, I procrastinated getting ready on time and drew out my prepping process.
The run was rather fun! Surprisingly, there were many runners out even though it was a wet day! I felt priviledged to be out among the "real and serious" athletes. whenever I used to see people running out in the rain I thought they were nuts and also very dedicated. Now I am one of them!
One thing about running in the morning is that provides you with the opportunity to say "Good Morning" cheerfully to everyone you pass by. Bikers, runners, walkers, and dog walkers.....I said good morning or hi to all of them. If you make it a goal, it helps you to strive to keep positive.
It is rather neat being a "runner" now because you become part of an exclusive club just as being a scuba diver or motorcyclist. Back in the days when I rode a motorcycle for a brief period of my adult life, you become connected and one with each other. On the road, motorcyclists wave to each other as they pass by even though they do not know each other. It is a culture of understanding and reaching out to like beings. The same applies to runners! I guess I had not experienced this as much before because I often trail run by myself and not in the rain! hehe But being out there and seeing others you connect and there is this understanding between each other with what you are doing. So everyone, the runners in the rain, greet each other with common respect by giving a wave/hand signal as if you know each other and belong to a secret society.
The goal was to run 10 miles but I went longer. Part of the reasons is that I did not think there were mileage markers on this trail so I just decided to run 2 hours to ensure I reached 10 miles. On the trail run with mileage markers, I ran a 10 in under 2 hours. So this was just to be safe. I am going to try to run all pavement for the rest of my training to get used to it for my road race (the half marathon).
But anyhow, as I was running, I figured out these posts with numbers on them were mileage markers. I remember running past a 7 but cannot recall for how long. On the way back I ran past 6, 5, 4. 4 1/2, 3, and two posts which said 2. I never did see a post that said 1. So I ran somewhere between 11-12 miles.
Afterward, I was soaked and had to wear my work out suit (long sleeves and pants) in the sauna to warm up (the temp was 40 degrees in rain showers). Once my body temp was back to normal, I spend a great deal of stretching at the gym and sat in a very freezing cold water bath at home. It is the 4th or 5th cold water soak I have taken since 2006 when I trained to walk the Seattle marathon.
All my methods seemed to work well as I did not feel too bad today (Sunday). I am hoping to feel okay again tomorrow (Monday) as I am scheduled for a 4 mile run. So we will see how it goes. So far so good.
I hope I have another good run in my shoes and that it was not just a lucky break the first time around. It is about time to get myself some new socks too as I have primarily been wearing one pair (believe it or not the right socks make a difference and earlier a different pair bruised my toes horribly).
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