Long Run #1: Oh Yes, I Am That Stubborn

Here's how I looked before my hot, sweaty, painful 15-mile-run yesterday.
Thankfully no one was home to take my photo when I got home.

It was HOT. I made sure to start off re-e-e-al slow, and to take water breaks every 3-4 miles. Half way through I stopped to use the bathroom at the park and while I was there I soaked my hat in cold water, a genius move. Thankfully I had planned it so that the second half was the shadiest and breeziest, otherwise I don't know that I would have finished it. But I did! Longest distance run ever (I have covered longer than that before, but at a run/walk).

Then waffles with peanut butter and honey while in my ice bath, then dinner, a couple of episodes of King of the Hill, and early to bed.

And no pain today, hurrah!

Odds and Ends

How do you know when you're a serious runner? When you buy two pairs of running shoes in one day...

My shin is steadily getting better --- lots of arnica, stretching, and being careful with my running: no sprinting and going easy down hills.

Made my first veggie loaf last weekend and have been enjoying it in sandwiches all week. There is room for improvement but overall I'm quite pleased with myself.

I have my first 15 mile run of the season today and am very excited. It's going to be hot and I can't head out until after lunch, so I will make sure to go slow, have water and salts handy, and take breaks as I need to. I'm hoping it rains again, that will make it easier.

Swimming has felt incredible this week --- easy, steady, endless. Thursday I swam 2k, the longest I've gone since since high school. Blissful.

We went to the beach for the first time with Buddy last weekend, with my friend J and her son E. E very kindly shared his beach toys. Buddy LOVED it. Here's my favorite picture of the two of us.
(I didn't think I'd get in the water so that's my sports bra, not a bathing suit).

What stood out in your week?

Wah, Wah, Wah

So, the good news is that my left foot has been steadily getting better, even with the increased milage, and this week I haven't noticed it at all.

The bad news is that my right shin has been giving me some serious grief. As in, OW!

I am truly aggrieved by this because I haven't suffered from shin splints in a long time. Isn't that a beginner's problem? Okay, so I've upped my milage a bunch this week...

And of course I'd much rather it be shin splints than the alternative (a stress fracture).

Also of course I didn't baby it nearly enough, early enough, and so now it's hurting far more than shin splints usually do. That makes me nervous. However, it is responding to arnica and to ice, and it doesn't hurt extra when I press on it, so I am taking those as signs of hope.

I will take some running days off and see how it progresses with more ice and arnica. The weather's supposed to be beastly the next couple of days anyway --- a good time for some extra swimming!

Now if I could just stop worrying about it...

We Interrupt Our Regularly Scheduled Reports...

To bring exciting news --- today I ran a mile in under 9:00!

8:58, to be exact, the second of two mile repeats in my track workout today.

I realize this is ridiculously slow to some people, but it's quite an achievement for me.

Makes me think a sub-8:00 mile might yet be possible...