The Anti-Running Runner

I visited my family in Yuma, AZ for a week in August. Mom, Dad, and a sister live out there. I happened to fly in the night before Dad's birthday. He turned 62. So naturally, we got up and ran six miles together on his birthday. Fact: I had to work hard to keep up with Dad. He likes to say he was trying to keep up with me, but he's just being nice. I'm so blessed to have a running family. So many people in my fam run (most a lot faster than me). Dad and I are training for marathons. He's doing the Yuma Marathon in January, and I'm doing the X-Country Marathon in November. He's done...I want to say five marathons now. I'm not positive about that, but he did his first marathon in his fifties. For about a year, he had knee problems and took a break from marathons. Now he's back and feeling great. At Gasparilla one year, he ran a 3:55 (yes, a sub 4-hour marathon).  He was ten minutes off the Boston Qualifier. Now that he's over 60, he has...

I almost forgot to write about this race. Maybe because I ran it alone, which I almost never do. Of course, I ran into some wonderful friends like Karen and her family and Dawn and her family, so I didn't really feel alone. That's the great thing about racing locally. I can pretty much count on running into a friend or two. I started this post to complain about my terrible attempt to run eight miles today, which turned into a sluggish six miles where my face cracked under the heat of the sun (like a dummy, I forgot sunscreen). When did complaining ever help me anyway? Instead I'll mention that I did the Honda Grand Prix 5K last Friday in a chip time of 26:56. Pretty great for me! I was feeling good at first, probably started a little faster than normal, but for the most part I think I held the pace well. According to the calculator, I ran 8.68 minute/miles. Really, that's fantastic for me. Praise Jesus for consistency and persistence even when I have a rough ru...

I went six miles in the Vibrams last Sunday. It was really hot, so that was a challenge. The toes were okay. I had remembered to Body Glide them. Yesterday, after a rainy day, the weather was fantastic. The air felt cool. I left work, ran my waterfront route around the St. Pete Pier, and felt awesome the entire time. Except my toes...I forgot to Body Glide them. P.S. I don't have pretty feet. The tape is keeping the bandaids on so far. Oh, and I had to stop for a bathroom break that took quite a while, but you don't want to hear about that. Toes were painful, but I finished the distance and now you see how my feet look today. It was so sad, too, because I felt so great otherwise. Not often the case. As my hubby points out, raw toes is a problem that may mean these are not the shoes I should wear for my half marathon. But I'm stubborn. I want these to work so bad! I love how they feel. When my toes haven't been rubbed raw, they are great. So...