October Runfessions
WHERE did October go??? And why do the days speed by so alarmingly this time of year? Slow down, time! Well… it’s the last Friday of the month, which means we’re joining Marcia for Runfessions! I’ve got a few things to share… My biggest runfession is that after dithering vaguely for the last several months, it’s come to my attention that I’m running a 50 MILE RACE in February. ACK. Last week Lisa asked me two questions- what shoes am I planning to wear for the race, and what my longest long run will be in training. Um… great questions, and I didn’t have any great answers. For the shoe part, I’ve had my Altra FWD’s for a week now and I still love them. They’re not a trail shoe and my race is a trail race- but Florida trails aren’t that technical. For my race last year, I remember thinking trail shoes would have been nice, but I was also perfectly fine running that race in road shoes. I’ve thought about going back to REI and trying on some trail shoes, and I particularly want to try the Altra Lone Peaks- but on the other hand, if everything is going well, do I really want to start messing around with zero drop shoes now? I don’t know. So, how long WILL my longest long run be? Well, I’m not following a specific training plan. So far I’m doing the same thing I did last year while training for my 50k- three shorter runs a week and one long run. My long run topped out at 25 miles for that race. For this one, I’m going back and forth on doing back-to-back long runs. Some people recommend it, and some say it’s not necessary. I think it would be easier on my body to do a 20 mile run followed by a 10 mile run the next day, rather than one 30 mile run. The problem is, I don’t have two days off work in a row. I’m going to have to do some tricky maneuvering, but I think I can manage two back-to-backs. New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day will work (boy, I’ll be the life of the party!) and I’ll figure out one other one. So that’s the plan… such as it is. Now that we’ve got that figured out (er, somewhat) I have one more runfession to share. Last week I ran 15 miles on my favorite trail, which is about a 25 minute drive from my house. This trail happens to be near a Trader Joe’s- and it’s a rule that anytime you’re near a Trader Joe’s, you have to go, especially during pumpkin season (everyone knows that!) My only complaint about this trail is that there’s no bathroom. So after my run I just wiped myself down and changed clothes in my car. I felt a little grubby, but figured I was fine to just pop quickly into Trader Joe’s. I whipped through the store, grabbing my favorites- almond butter, nuts, sparkling water… but when I got to the checkout and cashier asked if I found everything I needed, I had to tell her that I couldn’t find my soymilk. This led to a very involved discussion about the Trader Joe’s soymilk, why it’s better than any other soymilk (the only ingredients are organic soybeans and water) and when it might be back in stock. We ended up going over to the computer at the customer service desk to look it up- and somewhere during this conversation I realized I had no idea what I looked like. I could have had a huge smear of dirt across my forehead, or a branch stuck in my hair for all I knew. I got very self-conscious and got out of there as quickly as possible, so I could get in my car to look at myself in the rear-view mirror. Phew. No dirt on my face, and although I wasn’t exactly having a great hair day, there were no branches in there. Note to self: next time, at least take a quick glance in the mirror! Well, that’s it for this month. Have you tried the new Altras? Do you ever wear a zero drop shoe? Do you ever do errands after a run but before you shower? – I’m not a fan of this, but I’ll do it if I have to!