Month to month mileage from '09

...just cleaning up a side tab.

December:

11/30-12/6	12/7-12/13	12/14-12/20	12/21-12/27	12/28-1/3	Total
0	5	2	7.5	13.5	28

November:

11/2-11/8	11/9-11/15	11/16-11/22	11/23-11/29	Total
6	9.5	14.5	15.5	45.5

October:

10/5-10/11	10/12-10/18	10/19-10/25	10/26-11/1	Total
0	0	0	0	0

September:

8/31-9/6	9/7-9/13	9/14-9/20	9/21-9/27	9/28-10/4	Total
6	50	0	0	0	56

August:

8/3-8/9	8/10-8/16	8/17-8/23	8/24-8/30	Total
0	0	0	3	3

July:

6/29-7/5	7/6-7/12	7/13-7/19	7/20-7/26	7/27-8/2	Total
0	3	0	3	10	13

June:

6/1-6/7	6/8-6/14	6/15-6/21	6/22-6/28	Total
47	8	85.5	0	143.5

May:

5/4-5/10	5/11-5/17	5/18-5/24	5/25-5/31	Total
50.5	32.1	26	26	134.6

April:

3/30-4/5	4/6-4/12	4/13-4/19	4/20-4/26
56	4	18	51.7

4/27-5/3	Total
60	189.7

March:

3/2-3/8	3/9-3/15	3/16-3/22	3/23-3/29	Total
10	47	17	43	117

Feb:

2/2-2/8	2/9-2/15	2/16-2/22	2/23-3/1	Total
60	45	10	25	140

Jan '09:

1/5-1/11	1/12-1/18	1/19-1/25	1/26-2/1	Total
40	40	43	20	143

70 Miles and Pooped!

I finally made a 70 mile non-race week; woohoo! All I have to say is that it is a sacrifice to run that much in a week. I average about 6 1/2 hours of sleep a night so that I can run early with the b-n-law (and yes, people at work do notice I look like a zombie!), I delay social activities on the weekend so I can get my long run in and still have time to nap because I'm drained at the end of a work/running week, and I let my house look like crap and say that I'll clean everything after church on Sunday but really I just cash out in front of the TV for 3 hours (yep...just woke up and I'm sitting with a pile of clean sheets on the dining room table, needed to be folded). Dang! I don't even have 1 kid, let alone 2 or 3 kids, who need to be driven around to sports and plays and fed and cared for. How do other people do it?? I actually have a little extra time at night since my husband's in school but what do others do? I know that Nick has some kids and he does it; gets up at 3:30am everyday and counts on his espresso. Ay ay ay.

So about the 70 miles, I started out ahead because I didn't have to work last Monday so I ran 16 miles. Then I hit 35 or something on Thursday so I bet Brian again that I had to do x amount of miles over the weekend to equal 70 and there ya have it. Yes, my legs were tired and heavy and my 16 mile run yesterday took forevvvvver.

Even after my long-arse ponderment on the sacrifice of running (I just googled "ponderment" to see if it's a word and I still can't tell. I like it though.) there's something about it that makes me want to do it again...keep uppin the mileage. It's crazy to think how much time and energy the 70 miles took in a week and I'm going to attempt 100 miles in 24+ hours at Woodstock. Why will I do it??

Disappointing Drymax

No, that's not my foot.

Last year at Mohican I got hit with a ton of blisters and it ended up forcing me out of the race. Nick had the same problem and finally recommended me some good, expensive socks that supposedly do the trick: the $20/pair Drymax Socks Maximum Proctection "made for ultra runners, guaranteeing to keep your feet drier than any other pair of sock" socks. Since these were the "top-notch" socks that everyone loves, I kept them in the back of my mind and was going to buy them as my mileage picked up and as I got closer to attempting another 100 mile race (Woodstock is 9/24).

So the other day I forked out $60 for three pairs of them, assuming they'd get me through a 50 mile race. I ran six miles in them the other day and felt fine. I was on a ten mile run today and at mile EIGHT my feet were soaked with sweat! I could feel the water sloshing around. I came home and I already had a little blister on my toe. The crazy thing was that it was cooler out today (76 degrees) than my other runs and for some reason I noticed the wetness in these socks more than other socks on different runs.

I'm pretty disappointed as big races are approaching and I have yet to find a solution to blisters. I wasn't even in water today and my socks were wet. What the heck am I going to do with a million water and mud-caca crossings during a race? Buy 30 pairs of socks and then change my socks every five miles? Maybe I should just run in water shoes. After all, wouldn't water shoes be similar to Vibram shoes and isn't barefoot running in style nowadays?

Someone at my last race suggested putting the powder that you put on baby's butts on your feet to help. I forget what it's called. I'll go ahead and get my money back for these socks and keep on searching for solutions.

Am I the only one having problems? No one else in these ultras seems to suffer. Any suggestions? Any help?