Ouch!

My new Mizuno running shoes are great. I started using them on Friday, and have not had one problem with shin splints. (Considering I was in agony on Wednesday night after running in my Nikes, that’s a big deal.) There’s just one little problem… ouch!

See, the new Mizunos aren’t broken in, and they’ve given me two rather massive blisters on my heels. We’re talking big-time blisters, and are they painful! I ran an easy 5K on Friday, which is when the blisters first started. On Saturday, I did some speed work on the treadmill (four minute, intense speed intervals – yuck!) and didn’t even bother doing weights because my feet hurt so much. Somehow I got through today’s easy 10K run, but I have to admit, my feet are in pretty bad shape now. I’m going to soak them in Epsom salts tonight, but I’m afraid of what tomorrow will bring. I have to be at a trade show all day, and I think the blisters might kill me!

Ultimately, I think I’ll be very happy with the shoe choices. The aches and pains/shin splints are already gone, proving to me that it was indeed my shoes that caused the problem. These shoes have great support, and if I can get the blisters under control, it will be great.

Until then, though, I think I’m in for some painful times ahead!

Today also marked another milestone for me with my running. Today I started my experiment with different types of energy drinks and gels. I know they’re not to important for me right now, considering I’m only running distances of up to 13K right now, but as I move to half marathon training in the fall, it will become much more important. Any time you’re out running for longer than 90 minutes, you need to put both carbohydrates and electrolytes back in your body. And while you could try munching on an apple while running, energy drinks and gels are really the best way to get those nutrients back into your body. (We had a sports nutritionist come in and talk to our clinic… can you tell?)

So today I tried a gel before my run. Disgusting! I didn’t notice it gave me more energy (although the run was easier – I think that’s because we slowed down our pace a bit), but it certainly didn’t upset my stomach either. Next week, I’m going to try an energy drink instead of water on my run. We’ll see if that makes any difference.

Happy trails…