02.03.14 -- progress report

I'm having a bit of a love/hate relationship with running right now. I only want to run when I can't (like when I'm at work); when I can, I don't want to; when I'm doing it, I don't want to; when I'm done, I feel on top of the world. Still searching for that runner's high that Meagan talks about that will make me enjoy running while I'm doing it. Not holding my breath though :)

I did a short run last Tuesday, and then totally failed the rest of the week. The first Mini Marathon training series run (5k) was scheduled for Saturday. On Friday, Ashlye and I went to pick up our bibs.
 

I run this town. Except for when I stay at home on the couch.

When Saturday morning rolled around, I was not feeling it. It wasn't actively raining or sleeting at the moment, but it had been and it would be again. Plus it was like 30 degrees. No. I was not going outside. No thanks. Lame, I know, but I'm just not that hardcore. :)

 

To make up for it, my plan was to do an 8 mile run in the afternoon. I busted out Annie to keep me entertained, and I hopped on the treadmill. About 2.5-3 miles in, I was feeling pretty good. I had gotten out of the "oh my god why am I doing this?" that I always go through during the first mile or so, and I felt like I could keep going forever. About 4 miles in, though, that feeling started to disappear. My hip really started hurting, and I needed to walk more. I told myself that I could and would make it to 8 miles, though, which would have put me at the end of the movie.

 

Coming up on mile 6, however, I couldn't take it anymore. I gave up and watched the rest of the movie from the couch. I did make it to 6 miles though, which is pretty good. Not fast, but I kept it under my 15 minute/mile goal time!

 

Grueling

On Sunday, my hip was still really hurting. I came to terms with the fact that I may actually need new shoes, as much as I did not want to pay for a new pair of shoes. So I went to the Bluemile in Broadripple to have a stride test done and all that jazz. I was glad I went when I did, because close to when I left it started getting really busy. Close to opening, though, I had the place (and the employees) to myself :)

 

The guy who helped me was really awesome. Told me all about the biomechanics of walking and running and what my body was doing and how that likely (or not) caused the pain I've been experiencing. [The rest of my pain could be attributed to weak muscles. Not that that's likely or anything. ;)] I tried on 3 pairs of shoes, but none I was in love with. I was beginning to feel a little like Goldilocks. Then he says, "I have one more pair that might work. Let me see if we have it."

 

He comes back with these:

The Brooks Transcend

I put them on and the first words out of my mouth were, "My arch feels AMAZING!" I walked around in them for awhile, and tried them out on the treadmill. He told me I could go run outside if I wanted to, but I figured that was a recipe for busting my ass given all the ice and snow. :) Clearly, given my initial reaction, I went home with them. HOLY SHIT WERE THEY EXPENSIVE! $171 with tax. Ouch. Running costs a lot of money.

When I went home and googled them, apparently these shoes are like the brand-est new-est thing. They were released on Saturday, and lots of shoe stores held release parties. What? Running seriously is a cult. Anyway, the nice guy told me that I had 30 days to make sure I was satisfied with the shoes, and if after a week or so I was still having issues to come back in and we'd give it another go. Seriously, such an awesome place. So we'll see how I do. If they're really as awesome as I hope they are, I'll go ahead and buy a second pair to rotate with, so I can have the same shoes for the marathon this fall. We'll see!