Ouch

Last week was week one of my turbo marathon training.

It's canceled!

Last Wednesday it was so hot and humid, I could feel the air clogging my lungs. I walked the last mile of a six mile run. But worse, I grew a sizeable blister on pinkie toe. I have always been a big fan on running socks and tell all my rookie runner friends they are worth the investment. This bit of knowledge was passed down from my running guru friends. Even though I wore non cotton socks on Wednesday, I still developed a blister. They were the cheaper Target brand so lesson learned. There is a difference. This makes me want to try barefoot running even more passionatly, but need to do more research before I jump into that crazy pool.

Thursday, I did what most avid, stupid runners do and ignored that blister. I ran indoors and did a strength class after. It was a great workout, despite the piercing pain from my pinkie. When I pulled off my sock, I saw the blister now covered my entire pinkie and another smaller blister was forming on the next toe. Putting on socks was excruciating. I debated popping it, but decided it was best to just take a break and wear flip flops. I did run again yesterday and today, six miles each. The blister popped and is nagging, but not unbearable.

Because I still have not put in a long run, I am rethinking the whole marathon in 10 (now 9) weeks. It's just not smart. I have been scouring the marathon directory for a marathon in November or December. It blows me away how many marathons there are. Now I do love to run and brag about conquering 26.2 miles, and that is the point. But after that, I need the swag. I don't want to pay $60-$80 and just get a cotton T shirt. This happened when I did an Olympic Length Tri last summer. I swore to only participate for a good cause or good swag. It seems to me that the Akron Marathon has the best offerings. All participants get a running jacket and a voucher for brand new Brooks shoes. Sweet! However, that marathon is in September.

Since the whole idea is to give myself more time to properly prepare, running in that one would be stupid. The other factor is distance and driving. The only close marathon to Indianapolis in late fall is in Bloomington, IN. I love Bloomington. It's absolutely gorgeous. And absolutely hilly. Indianapolis is as flat as it gets, so hills kinda scare me. Plus, I learned a valuable lesson in that tri last summer. Two lessons if you count that you should check the swag prizes before forking over the big bucks. The other is that it's good to know what you are getting yourself into. I bit off more than I could chew with that tri. My friend rode on a mountain bike because, well, we just didn't know better. She was so exhausted that she could barely finish the run. We weren't dead last, but I think there was just one guy behind us. Plus, they were out of drinks at the post race fuel tent. That's bad. So I need to know what I am getting into when trying a race. A hilly marathon just might not be in the books the fall. Maybe I'll have to be happy with running for the love of running and wait for the Indy marathon to roll around again next fall.