The Oregon Trail

Thanks Fleet Feet for recommending DryMax socks. They were perfect yesterday during my 5 mile workout. I am officially blister free right now. I think I'll be buying a lot more of those.

Part of my blister free day may be that after speaking with several runners, I found out that sometimes it's better to "drain" a blister. Sounded horrible, but I was determined to get rid of it. After showing my trophy to several people and hearing repeatedly that it likely won't go away on its own, I decided it was time for some pioneer medicine.

Afterward, all I could think of was elementary school and playing The Oregon Trail. After putting some antibiotics and bandages on it, I announced to Neil that "Beth died from dysentery."

Just like magic - the next day, I was ready to go!!!! With my new socks on and no huge bubble on the side of my foot, I went the five miles without much problem - except boredom. Around mile 3 or so, I start thinking of just random stuff. I think it's the exhaustion setting it. It makes me think just crazy things.

For example, one day last week I could have sworn I smelled McDonald's french fries. At first I was annoyed because what sicko would bring that into a gym. Instead of dwelling on it, I made myself believe that was the smell of my sweat and that I really needed to keep going. See - crazy thoughts!!!

The snow and ice provided a little entertainment. While I was on the treadmill staring aimlessly out the window at the weather, I was periodically snapped by to reality by a few pickup truck drivers that didn't realize how icy the parking lot was. One did a 360.

For the first time, I left the gym tired but able to walk normal and Neil left with his knees hurting him.

Today is our rest day and while I don't look forward to the 5 miles tomorrow, I'm happy knowing I can rest today :)

Establish Crazy First

Michelle - I dedicate this post to you!

While talking with a friend on the phone this evening, we were joking about meetings and how to keep it interesting you should be the first to establish crazy. I suggested doing something random like turning off the lights and telling people you work better in the dark. Whether everyone will respect you or not, we're not sure, but they certainly won't ask many questions.

How does this fit in with my mini-marathon training? Well, deciding to train for a 13 mile (ahem, 13.1 mile) trek, I officially established crazy.

You see, crazy isn't always bad. Sometimes, it's motivating and thrilling and so is the journey I've been taking.

And now onto business...

Beth, why aren't you at the gym? I had my first major exam for the semester this evening, so I didn't have time to fit it in. Neil is at the gym working hard - hopefully hard enough for both of us, and while it was tempting to skip my blog tonight, I'm sure my public is awaiting an update (yeah, right).

Anyhow, you'll notice I didn't blog last night either. Last night we attended the show "Ella" at Actors Theatre, so no gym either.

So, the bad news, I've missed a few days. Excuses, excuses - I know. Luckily, although you wouldn't necessarily know it from my constant joking on this blog, I'm taking the training very serious. I was really bummed when I realized I would miss a few days this week, but duties call.

The good news is that it's given my feet a chance to really heal! Saturday is a 5 mile day, so I'll need to be in tip-top shape (foot wise).

And with official business out of the way, I'll end my entry for the night. Go out and establish crazy in your own way! It keeps life interesting! And if you have suggestions for establishing crazy, by all means send them my way.

Not bad, not bad at all

Tonight was the first night I felt good leaving the gym. I'd be lying if I didn't say the blisters bothered me a little, but since it was only 2 miles, it was completely manageable.

If you told me a month ago that I'd be celebrating a night I only had to go 2 miles on a treadmill, I would have looked at you and rolled my eyes.

Honestly - outside of saying tonight felt good, I have nothing to say.

Blood, Sweat and Tears

Thanks to tonight's training, my body took the phrase "blood, sweat and tears" literally. Although it was only 4 miles, my feet were still sore and tired from the weekend.

While I don't have any gym mishaps to share, I can tell about a problem plaguing me - blisters.

Although I lathered up with Blister Block all over my feet, it just wasn't enough tonight. I'm pretty sure I could have dipped my feet in Crisco and that wouldn't have been enough.

Around the 1 mile mark, the back of my ankle was rubbing. Instead of stopping, I turned up my headphones. Clearly, the pain of my feet and the volume of my iPod are related.

At mile 3, the rubbing was burning. If I didn't already have my iPod volume maxed out, I would have turned up the music, but this obviously called for something else. Refusing the quit, I stuffed part of a paper towel in the back of my shoe. Was it a redneck move? Yes. Did it do the trick? For about 30 seconds.

Neil suggested I get new shoes, but I'm fully convinced that my feet will be just fine after I break these shoes in.

Mile 4, I was pouring sweat and limping to my car.

When I got home from the gym, I discovered the shoes are definitely mine to keep. Why, you ask? Well, when I took my shoe off, I discovered my ankle was bleeding. I wasn't sure if I was disappointed or proud - maybe a little bit of both.

I figured I'd better soak the feet and get some antibiotic cream on the blisters, especially my bloody wound. It was while soaking my feet the tears came. Not full on crying, just a little teary because it burned.

Now, an hour or so later, I have my feet nice and clean, a bunch of Band-Aids on them, and some socks.

I'm hoping for a miracle because I think tomorrow is 2 miles.

Good night!

Oh - and don't forget to visit http://www.active.com/donate/browncancercenter10/teamhobson to see how we're doing on our fundraising.

Feel free to make a donation in honor of my bleeding foot.

Tunes for Motivation Needed...

Today is a rest day - and good thing. At one point last night, my feet hurt so bad, I was tempted to do a little pioneer medicine and amputate them myself. Luckily, that urge passed.

Today has been 'catch-up' day. I'm working on catching up on homework and need to get some stuff done around the house. I have to be honest though - Neil's been doing all the housework today. (Sorry Neil)

I looked on my calendar and tomorrow is 4 miles. EEK! While that's less than the 5 miles I did yesterday, I need help!

I find myself getting bored with the songs on my iPod. What do you listen to when you need to keep going? I'm hoping for lots of good suggestions.

I Felt the Burn

WOW! Okay, if you've never done 5 miles on a treadmill, it's not fun! First, it's boring and second, it hurts.

I was using my handy dandy new shoes to break them in. Ouch! Blister city.

Oh - and I also have a new enemy at the gym. When I arrived, there was nobody working out on the treadmills, so I took advantage of adjusting the fan toward my treadmill. At mile 4, when I'm contemplating giving up, someone moved it! I gave her the Hobson stink eye during my last mile.

The motivation to get through the last mile was remembering that tomorrow is a rest day.

After the gym, I went to the grocery, which meant more walking, which meant a higher level of irritability, but I made it through that too.

Now that I have official battle wounds I can show people (my blisters), I feel like I'm really training.

Let There Be Rest

So today was my most successful day of training yet. I felt awesome at the end of the day and felt like I really accomplished something. Did I mention today was a rest day?

Something I didn't feel great about was buying new shoes. After training in my favorite comfortable sneakers for a couple of days, I realized they weren't going to cut it. For a night at the movies or out with the friends, my Sketchers are my go to shoe, but for the treadmill, they didn't seem quite right. After a mile or so the bottom of my foot was rubbing weird on my shoe. I was fitted for new shoes and of course, I was wearing the wrong size. I now have a pair of shoes that fit perfect in length and width, which is great. What was great was the cash register. Holy moly! I wasn't quite ready for that.

At this point, between shoes, socks and registration fee, I've made a financial investment. I have to be honest with myself though - a good pair of shoes is much cheaper than a trip to a podiatrist!

And with that thought, I'm going to go enjoy the remainder of my "rest" day by watching a bunch of unnecessary television. The celebration can't last forever. Tomorrow will bring 5 miles.

Sometimes peer pressure is good...

Sometimes peer pressure is actually a good thing. For the second year, two of my co-workers are training for the Kentucky Derby Festival's Mini/Marathon. Once they started training, for the second year, I felt lazy and so, I caved into the peer pressure and signed up to do the mini-marathon.

The only problem is that I hate hate hate running. I remember in 6th grade when my gym teacher told me her grandmother was faster than me. I'm serious - sad, but true. I knew then that running was not my strong suit.

So, what's a girl trying to fit in with her co-workers to do?

I figured I can at least walk.

And just like a virus, peer pressure spreads. Neil was then convinced to participate too. And now, we're Team Hobson. A lean, mean training machine.

With training schedule in hand, we've started hitting the gym. I've got to be honest - going 4 miles on my first day of training -not fun! This morning, I didn't even want to walk down my steps. I contemplated sitting on the top step and riding them down. While on the treadmill, I could only think of the movie "Run Fat Boy Run." (If you're training for the mini and haven't seen the movie - definitely check it out.)

Tonight, which was the second night, only required 1 mile. I've never been so excited to go a mile.

So, the hardest part of this will be remaining motivated. That's where this blog comes into play...

First, if I think I have public accountability, I'll be more likely to succeed.

Second, I'm sure I'm going to do something ridiculous at some point of this training and I simply can't deny my friends the pleasure of reading those mishaps.

Third, I'm hoping that while reading our journey, you'll consider making a donation to the James Graham Brown Cancer Center on behalf of Team Hobson. The Brown Cancer Center is an official charity of the Mini/Marathon again this year, and Team Hobson is hoping to help out with the fundraising. Our page is at: http://www.active.com/donate/browncancercenter10/teamhobson

I'll try to keep the posts shorter, but since this was the first one, I felt the need to have some additional info.

Oh - and how are we feeling? Beth = sore and Neil = sore.

**BY THE WAY: Posts made on this blog did not reflect the opinions of the Kentucky Derby Festival, the Brown Cancer Center, or the University of Louisville - this blog is intended to be a personal account of our training journey.**