Sunday, July 12, 2009

a taste for suffering

week in review (7/6 - 7/12):
total miles: 53 (cutback)
time spent running: ~7 hours 41 minutes
avg hr: 157
avg pace: 8:42/mile (avg temp: 84.25*)
off days: 1

i didn't realize that last week's 64+ miles was a new weekly mileage pr, beating out a 62-mile week from late in my goofy challenge training regime. this past week of training hasn't been the greatest, but i slogged through the miles and survived.

i started the week with a head cold which made the rest of my body tired, and my legs were disagreeable all week. the motivation was not flowing as freely as it did last week while on vacation. luckily all these hindrances fell during a cutback week anyway, so i was 'free' to slog along. hopefully my brain and legs are done whining. we have work to do.

sundays are always one of my "quality workout" days since that's the day of the week the nyc marathon falls on. they're also "long run day", because who doesn't want to run some threshold miles during a long run. today's quality workout was easy to remember - 18 miles easy pace. (not all quality workouts involve speed, some are just long). for whatever reason, i was more motivated to do this run on the treadmill than outside. (yeah don't ask.) so, 18.25 miles on the 'mill it was. slightly masochistic?

my blister situation is still present, over 3 months later. wtf. i drained it way back when, it seemed to be doing better for a couple days, and then came back with a vengeance. i quit running in my asics (toebox felt tight), started running in tech socks, occasionally try to put a band aid or tape on it... nothing works. it just wants to grow. saturday's 8 miler turned it into a blood blister, but today's 18 miler self-drained that and made it a regular blister again. i really don't know what to do about it, and you know i'm not going to take a few days off for a stupid blister. maybe in another 9 months i'll get to throw a birthday party for it at boston.

37 comments:

  1. cannot believe you did 18 on the dread mill. god bless you. that is not fun.

    sorry about your blister. perhaps you can name it.

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  2. A blister for 3 months? Maybe you should get it checked out..
    18 miles on a treadmill--you beat my record of 12 miles...did you take any breaks? I always take more breaks on the mill.

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  3. that treadmill run is nuts...seriously the most i have done is a 10k...since then 3 miles. You are a rockstar...treadstar?

    What sort of cake do you think the blister would want? funfetti? he does sound like the party animal type.

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  4. Cut that thing off!

    I can't believe you ran 18 miles on the tread. That takes some serious skills!

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  5. 18 miles on the mill, wow, I am impressed! You may want to get the blister checked out - you may get some info on how to make it go away, put something on it, whatever. I had such blister issues during my previous marathon cycle, so I feel your pain! Ana-Maria

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  6. Your title is incredibly appropriate--53 miles as a cutback, 18 miles on a treadmill, and blisters. Wow!

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  7. I echo the previous commenters re: the long treadmill run. But hey, whatever works, esp. when your legs are disagreeable. As someone whose legs are often downright hostile, I know what you mean. :)

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  8. everybody has already remarked on this, but seriously, 18 miles on a treadmill!? that is ridiculously hardcore. my treadmill pr is 8!

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  9. Ummm, Lindsay... 18 miles on the treadmill.. hope you had a good movie to watch.. Chariots of Fire?

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  10. Now I'm curious, how long did it take to run 18 on a treadmill and what were you thinking about?

    I used to have huge blister problems in high school because I ran on my toes. The athletic trainer finally came up with this wiggly gel (not a creme, a solid) that they placed inbetween my blister and my shoe. It actually worked. In fact, I used that same wiggley gel to Ace the "egg drop" project in science class.(I wrapped it around the egg, which we dropped from a two-story height and it didn't break.)

    Since I don't have a trainer now, I stopped running on my toes and I use bandaids. So, I'm probably not much help..hmmm...Keep us updated.

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  11. When you make me snort with laughter, it is SO un-lady like.

    Thanks a lot.

    Glad the cold is better, but you may have suffered some hypoxia related brain damage. What else explains 'wanting' to run 18+ miles on the treadmill?

    So sad your star was so bright...

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  12. Vaseline.
    Its cheap and simple. Just put some (im pretty liberal about the amount) on your hot areas before you put your socks on.
    I got this from my old man when he was running marathons and what not years ago and I used it in the Marines to get by on 24 mile ruck marches and I use it today when I run, in fact Ill do it tonight before I run.

    Give it a try.

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  13. How did you last on the TM for 18 miles??? I think I would have gone crazy. Great job.

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  14. Belated congrats on your mileage PR last week. I set a mileage PR last week myself... but mine was 62K, not 62mi. :)

    That is one persistent blister!

    Wait... did you say you run 18 miles on the 'mill? Omg.

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  15. HOLY crap! 18 miles on the 'mill? I think the farthest I've ever made it on the treadmill is 8 miles--and that was PURE TORTURE! I am in awe!

    As for the blister--yikes! I might actually get it checked out by a doc, to be honest. At one point during my soccer days, I had a similar situation going on, and it turned out I had a staph infection, which left untreated can get pretty serious. I ended up being forced to take a couple weeks off from soccer to let it heal because I didn't get it checked out sooner. So yeah, it might be worth it to see a doc and find out if there's anything you can do to help and/or prevent infection.

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  16. 18 miles on the dreadmill! Yikes, you're my hero. Kudos to you for getting it done, I don't think I'd have your strength. as for the blister... maybe getting it checked out is a good idea, but I use BodyGlide cuz I get blisters regularly, and seems to help a lot. Great running mileage despite the off week, here's to hoping this week is better :)

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  17. Woah girl you are very disciplined to run 18 miles on the dreadmill. WOW! Kudos to you!!

    Sorry about your on-going blister. It seems you are doing everything possible to get rid of that sucker!!!

    Have a great week!!!

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  18. By the way, I had a blister in the exact same spot. It took about 1 1/2 months to harden up and then soften up and for the skin to come off. Those suckers are really hard to heal!!!

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  19. Eighteen on a treadmill? I would say you needed a movie. But Chariots of Fire? How about Harold and Maude!? Uber booring!

    I like B.o.B's idea of naming your blister. How abut George David Effen. That way you can refer to it as your "G D F'n blister".

    (BTW - great job on the miles last week!)

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  20. 18 miles on the treadmill?! I did 16 once and thought I was going to go crazy. Dang girl!

    Want me to bake your blister a cake in Boston? :-P Just kidding. That's strange that it's still around 3 months later! Definitely think about going to the doctor!

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  21. Long ago when I got engaged, my fiance encouraged me to get a dog. She wanted to see how I would cope caring for a 'lil one. I guess it worked since now we're married 17 years with 2 kids.

    You've got a fiance & a big ass blister. My advice to you is keep the guy, cut off the blister, and get yerself a puppy.
    (Dog will be better running partner too (uhmm,,, that is compared to the ailment. I'm not making any judgements on fiance's running ability))

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  22. A taste? That 18-miler on the treadmill sounds like a whole meal to me (says a person who has done 16 before :-)

    Bummer about the blister. I actually used to get one in a similar place but not for a long time since switching to Wright Socks and sizing up on my shoes. Maybe one of those toe caps that usually protect an injured toenail might help?

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  23. On the treadmill? Are you okay?

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  24. Duct tape has always been my cure for blisters, but mine have been on my arch and easier to tape. The toe is harder. I'm surprised that after 3 months you haven't developed a callous there.

    Oh, and I'll reiterate that you're nuts for running 18+ on the treadmill. That takes some crazy mental fortitude. Congrats!

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  25. 18.25 miles on the treadmill? You are a glutton for punishment!! Nicely done.

    Maybe...hopefully your blister will start to callous one of these days. That's happening to me on the side of my heel.

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  26. OK, yeah. 18+ on the 'mill. That's sick! :-)

    I wish I had some suggestions for the blister. That rots.

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  27. I can't last 1 mile on a treadmill. And very nice work on the 64+ week. Impressive.

    And to answer you question on my blog- I work in the marketing department of an A/E firm. I'm not a threat to put on a hardhat and stomp around a job site. No way they'd trust me to do that!

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  28. Nice job on the new mileage PR, check out Fixing your Feet by John Vorhoff

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  29. Ummm 18 miles on the treadmill I think makes you officially insane!

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  30. good lord girl, you ARE nuts. my longest TM run was 11 and i havent been on it since. GAH i cant imagine that.

    nice job on the "cutback" week :)

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  31. I am really impressed that you can run that far on a treadmill- I would die- I can barely do 2 miles!

    I really hope the blister goes away and you do not have to throw a bday party for it!

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  32. 18 miles on a dreadmill...you ARE sick!! Glad you survived. Sorry to read about the blister situation. Vaseline (aka petroleum jelly) still works well for me controlling blisters. Nice "short" running mileage week, by the way! :-)

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  33. Gosh1 I have to hand it to you...you get the award for dedication! 18 miles on the treadmill!

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  34. You must have a lot of patience to be able to run that many miles on a treadmill. I can never picture myself running that many miles, let alone on a treadmill.

    I think the thing on my toe skipped from blister to full on callous, and it's dark so there's blood underneath? Hopefully your's goes away soon..

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  35. 18 miles and treadmill in the same sentence? Wow. I'd rather chew my foot off! :)

    Blister still there??? It wouldn't have lasted this long on me, I'd cut the skin off ages ago. Maybe have it checked out? But I suppose if you get antibiotics for your teeth it'll take care of whatever's in there too! (Maybe even show it to the dentist eh? Haha.)

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  36. In the words of Mike Rowe, host of Dirty Jobs on the Discovery Channel (one of my favorite shows), who dealt with a girl who was holding three snakes in her hand, and who helped him help the snake puke, "you are some wacky chick!" That is my reaction to your WANTING AND RUNNING 18 MILES on the treadmill. Holy crap, woman.

    I can't wait to meet you in person, you fellow future Nerd Herder or is it Nerd Herd IRLer?

    :-)

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