The Anti-Running Runner

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...

I love this time of year. The days are getting cooler, the humidity level decreases, and running feels pretty good. My running routine changes throughout the year. I have quite a few races coming up, so my current schedule is to run every other day (average 3 days a week, sometimes 4). My favorite time to run is after work along the waterfront. I change into running clothes and walk to the security-guarded parking garage where I leave my things in the car. The route I often take from the garage to the Pier and back is about 5 miles. My next race is the Women’s Half Marathon on Nov 21 st , so I’m increasing to 8 miles today. Nice and slow. During the summer, after work is not a fun time to run, but I have a really hard time getting up at 5am to run before. The anti-runner in me hits snooze until it's too late to run before work, and my punishment is to run in the Florida deathrays of the late afternoon. Lately, I have prefered this to waking up early. I...