8 days, weather…

EIGHT DAYS LEFT UNTIL THE MARATHON…

“Sometimes, I wish that I was the weather
You’d bring me up in conversation forever
And when it rained, I’d be the talk of the day”

Weather Channel says it will be a low of 42 and a high of 51, with showers

Accu Weather says it will be a low of 48 and a high of 63, with sunshine and patchy clouds

Well, that’s comforting. It will be warmer than I expected and possibly soggy. I can deal with running in the rain, but rain will probably translate to less spectators along the course. I also don’t know if I should reconsider what I’m going to wear. I was going to wear pants…but if it will be on the warmer side, perhaps shorts? Game day decision?

And by the way, I’m so in love with my new shoes. For the first time ever, I’m an 8. Usually I’m a 6.5 – 7.5 in shoes, but since I have problems with my toes bruising, my new kicks are a half size bigger to account for the trauma. I did an easy 8 around Central Park (one loop around, a loop around the reservoir, a bit of the bridle path) and no pain, no blisters, no chafing, and they’re definitely not white any more…!

I think I may be troubled by seasonal affective disorder. I’ve been such a grump during these past few gloomy days. I snapped at so many people yesterday… :-/ Then I drank nearly two bottles of wine at a show last night to get rid of my sads, then had a full nights worth of really weird dreams. Like, everyone I knew were in those dreams. People I talk to every day, and people I see ever so often. They were so real and so detailed…very confused when I woke up. I still feel out of sorts, and perhaps it’s because I feel defeated in every sense: friends, work, running, relationships, life, etc… Oh well. Breakfast then heading out to play tour guide for my Saturday visitors .

the countdown is on!

10 days. Well, technically 9 days and some change.
Aw snap, shit’s getting reeeeaaaalllllll…..!!!!

Since I’ve been so lax on this bloggy, maybe I’ll try to do a ten day countdown.

TEN:
So here we go, this girl got some new kicks (old and new photos below). Dan and I attempted to get our feet evaluated tonight at the Asics Foot ID thigamajig, but they wouldn’t let us since it was too close to closing, but I bought new shoes (and shorts and socks…) regardless. Jury is still out on if I’ll race in them next weekend. *They* say you should give yourself 3 weeks before racing in new shoes, but I’m a rule breaker. Dan and I are running double digits this weekend and Chris and I are hopefully doing a longish run between the weekend and the race so I’ll decide after those miles.

Everything is shaping up:
- I have my bib #, 4082‚ which is very nice since 8 is my favorite number.

- I’m in the green corral, which is the third corral from the start so hopefully I won’t spend too much time dodging and weaving.

- I confirmed my hotel room and apparently I’m in a handicap room. Which is fine, but odd as it wasn’t my request. I told them they could change it since I obviously don’t need it‚ maybe it’s slightly bigger.

- Dinner reservations have been made for the night before.

- Plans to meet up with friends Thursday through Sunday are falling into place. And I just sent Nate this text: “Hey, remember when we went to see Ryan “play” and I drank too much and we listened to Ben Folds on the way home and then the highway started spinning and you had to pull over on 95 and I puked on the side of the interstate and on or around your shoes? Fergies. Yeah, Morita, Moses, etc and I will be there while I’m in Philly so you should come too.” Heh, totally forgot about that.

- Outfit has been chosen and washed and just needs to be packed.

- And lastly, my nerves are very high. My confidence is very low due to loss of miles and my chronically sore ankle‚ just a few more runs to go and 26.2 to go before I’m officially a marathoner. Yay.

** I’ll post more details and nonsense as the day approaches‚ need to think of 9 more themes…!

Here are my dingy, dirty, well loved old kicks:

and my new, sleek, crush. swoon:

Asics Night at Super Runners Shop

Yay! Tomorrow is Asics Night at Super Runners Shop in NYC. And this girl needs a new pair of running sneaks.

I *love* Asics, so this is perfect timing. Here’s more info from the NYRR site:

ASICS Special Discount Night!
If you need some gear, head over to any Super Runners Shop on Thursday, October 8, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. for discounts on ASICS products. Refreshments will be served. Please note that there will be no additional NYRR member discounts on top of the sale prices.

bloody sock

Only one, I only had one bloody sock.

I ran before work yesterday and in true Mir fashion, I used up every available minute and found myself rushing to catch my train on time. I did not expect to kick off my shoes to find a bloody left sock. No unexpected pain, just not white.

Foot injuries are not uncommon and though I’ve been fairly pain free aside from some muscle cramping and tightness in my injured knee if I run more than 7-ish miles, I haven’t really broken skin. This obviously put a damper on my morning and schedule.

After I cleaned myself up, I noticed I lost a toenail and it looked like a blood blister was created and popped. Sorry for the grossness factor, but hey – it’s part of being a runner and that’s what you get for following my marathon training!

My left foot has a collection of Snoopy bandaids which obviously have magic healing powers. Planning to knock out an 8 miles run in the park tonight, hopefully no skin will break. I tend to be extra cautious and try to prevent injury, but sometimes you don’t win. Helpful tips to keeping your feet in tact:

- Always wear clean and new socks. They’re inexpensive, once they get worn, toss aside.

- The best tip I’ve ever received is to rub vaseline (or anti-shafing stuff) on your feet as a barrier between your feet and socks which reduces friction. After my first half marathon I literally couldn’t walk home because the bottoms of my feet were covered in blisters. Lesson learned. or double up in socks, but only if they’re thin. I used to do this and had special Nike socks, but I lost a pair somewhere in my drawer. I haven’t lost my tub of vaseline yet.

- Make sure your shoes fit. You’d be surprised in how many people run a half size too small. Ill fitting shoes hurt the little piggies.

- Keep your toenails trimmed.

- But regardless, too much impact and wear and tear will get to you and sometimes you lose toenails and sometimes you get blood blisters. Nothing Arm & Hammer detergent and Snoopy can’t solve.