The easy runs are hard and the hard runs are easy. Topsy turvy land.

[sarah469]

I seem to be in a cycle at the moment where, whenever I think I am going to have a bad run, it ends up feeling great, and whenever I think I'll have a good/OK run, it ends up being really difficult.

Tonight was the latter. Still, I did it! One more for the self esteem bank. Another 7km ticked off (my aim for May was "to be able to run 7K" and I've done that twice this month), now the climb to 8km in 2 weeks. I've got my eye on you, Graduate10K badge! Sometime this summer I will get there.

I blame the weather this evening. I looked out of the window 'Ah. Cloudy and grey, perfect running weather.' Not so fast, self! As soon as I got out the door the sun came out and baked me, thankfully I did take some water so I coped. I also did the first km a bit too fast. There was a wobbly moment at about 4.5km where I suddenly hit some kind of wall and felt a bit sick, seriously considered having a walk break as I still had 2.5km to go, but I just told myself to slow down a bit and thankfully that was enough for me to recover.

Blister-prone feet still an issue but I'm bored of talking about that now so we'll gloss over that this time.

Hope everyone had a good bank holiday if you are in the UK (I don't want to go back to work tomorrow!).

Well done to all who completed the Great Manchester Run yesterday; you are a true inspiration to me.

[MarkyD Graduate10]

You're making excellent progress, and steadily working towards the 10km. So many people are in a rush to get that magic 10km in the bag, but then end up injured. So well done for your sensible approach to running. Slowing down is the secret to all of my running gremlins, too, and that got you past 4.5km. Are you still training for GSR in October? If so, you're half way and en route!

Blisters, nasty. I'd see blisters as a sign of something rubbing, and perhaps this warmer weather is making your feet (erm, thinks of some polite language) perspire? All I can offer is 'talc' or possibly, are your socks all washed up? If I air-dry socks, they end up hard and crispy, but if I tumble-dry them, they shrink. So my solution is regular replacement and luckily I've not had any problems. Have you tried different insoles?

Great to have you back with us, and don't forget to keep posting about your progress. We'll cheer you over the line.

.

[sarah469 Graduate10 in reply to MarkyD]

Thanks! Yes, I am still training for the GSR! April was 6km, May was 7km, June will be getting up to 9km by the end hopefully. October still feels very far away but I'm just taking it month by month and making sure there is progress. If I think too much about how MUCH progress I need to make before then, I'll freak myself out a bit, I think. I spose I am almost halfway! I did think about trying to do 8km today if I felt good but... that didn't happen. And my target was 7km.

All valid points re:blisters! I feel like I've tried everything, to be honest. I think I am getting somewhere and then the next run they are back. It's been an ongoing issue for about 18 months now. So far I have tried different socks, different lacing, insoles, 2 different shoes, moisturising, Vaseline... they are still there! It's definitely worse in heat and yes definitely rubbing or pressure related on the balls of my feet. Since I added comfy insoles and a certain lacing technique they seem a little better, but the heat is still an issue. Maybe I need super wicking socks. All boils down to my gait I think. I think I just run weirder than everyone else.

Thank you, MarkyD! Nice to speak to you again.

[Sandraj39 Graduate10]

Keep on keeping on Sarah, you will get there! 🙂

[sarah469 Graduate10 in reply to Sandraj39]

Thank you, Sandra!

[Hidden]

Sounds like good steady progress. Don't feel pressured to increase distance too fast. 10k can wait, enjoy the journey. I know you said you tried vaseline but have you tried really a lot of vaseline? That is what's worked for me ultimately... I still get these mini blisters on my arches but they don't rub and burn in the same way so it's okay