Going the distance

I ran 13 miles (!) during group run on Saturday. It's the farthest I've ever run and I'm super psyched because now I can go into September's half marathon knowing that I've run that distance before.

I never thought I would run 13 miles and want more, yet here I am. I still don't look like a runner, but after 15 years I'm finally starting to feel like one.

So I'm excited to be going further and further each week, but I'm less than thrilled with my new fancy running sneakers. There was something hard poking out of the inside seam on the left shoe that gave me a blister, so I cut it out and put electrical tape over the seam. As for the inserts, I ended up throwing them away because they felt awful.

I'm reading Born to Run by Christopher McDougall and he talks about how the "best," most expensive running shoes are actually the worst for you and can lead to more injuries than they prevent. Apparently I was on the right track all along with my cheapo running shoes. I'm going to do more research into the barefoot running movement and maybe check out some Nike Free Run or Vibram Five Fingers shoes, which are designed for running with more of a barefoot stride (landing on the mid-foot and sweeping back) versus "high-tech" cushioned running shoes which encourage landing on the heel and rolling forward.

My immediate concern is to figure out which shoes I want to wear for the race and then once I survive that I can explore some other options for the long term. I'm going to give the new shoes one more week of use without the inserts and see how my body feels. Even if the new shoes don't work out, I'm trying to look at it, not as having wasted $132, but as having learned a lesson about what not to buy in the future. Life is a series of trials and errors. Keep what works, toss or modify what doesn't, and keep going.

Lyric of the moment: "But wherever I have gone, I was sure to find myself there. You can run all your life but not go anywhere..."