Running Outside vs Treadmill

Run Time: 1 hour?? Run Distance: 5ish miles??

So yesterday I discovered something new. I really need to be doing more runs outside. I hadn't really had a real run outside yet this season (the only one I attempted ended horribly with side stitches). I've had a few short runs with unknown distances that were probably shorter than I really intended, but nothing that was as long as I really wanted to run. Yesterday that changed. I ran around Como Lake in St.Paul and ended up rather drained. The lake is beautiful and a popular spot for people in the city to walk/run/walk their dogs at. Yesterday was a beautiful day so of course there were TONS of dog walkers and really slow walkers in general. I think it's great that these people are getting their move on...but as a runner it becomes quite a hazard to constantly be cut off and have to jump off course. Well, I think somehow I ended up putting a bit too much pressure on my foot during all of these off course road jumps. I started to get some nice side stitches at about 3.5 miles but I kept on running until probably somewhere around 4.5. Immediately when I stopped I realized that I had foot pain. Odd that I didn't feel it while running but I certainly did when walking. It was a big of a long walk back to the car with this foot thing going on. But it wasn't anything that I couldn't handle. Anyways, today I feel like I got hit by a truck. I'm thinking I definetly need to do some more outdoor training to try and get rid of this odd difference between treadmill and outdoor runs. That and I think I may have acquired allergies over the last 2 years? I had a pretty bad headache post run as well. But oh well...it did feel amazing to be outside and running!! Oh and I think I may have gotten a blood blister? I've never had one...but I've got this mean looking red filled blister on my toe. Yuck.

Anyway, this whole run made me realize that I very well might not prepared to run a marathon in October. I'm going to give it a few more runs and try to determine what I should do. I've had a lot of people tell me that I really should run the marathon next year and at least get the half under my belt. A few fellow runners have also told me to avoid it because it does too much damage to your body. BUT again, if I'm already training for the half I might as well continue to train for the full. At least get it done once in a lifetime. In the meantime...registration is filling. Yikes.

What a Beautiful Day!

What a beautiful day today! It's in the 70's here in Minnesota and the sunshine is finally out! About time!

This weekend I accomplished quite a bit. Following my great run on Friday, I managed to plead with my boyfriend to run the Race for the Cure with me. He isn't a runner so it was a bit of a struggle but he finally agreed. I had planned on getting my parents to at least walk it with me but they said that they didn't feel ready. So instead, I have successfully recruited the bf with the promise of getting him trained prior to the race so that he doesn't feel like he has to walk it. Anyway, it should be a nice short race.

So, the answer to your question Chris...I am running the Race for the Cure in May and then I am running what is called the "Lindstrom Loppet", another 5K in a small Swedish town where my parents live. I plan to get a 10K in there somewhere but I really need to do some more investigating to figure out which one I want to run.

The side stitches aren't really completely out of the dark yet. I had them a few times this weekend when doing pretty mediocre things like walking. But we'll see and hope that they don't stick around.

And now I have a question to pose. My overall goal was to run a marathon next year. But the half marathon needs to come before it. The Twin Cities Marathon is in October and I don't think there is any possible way that I could run it this year for sure. I think I'm getting ahead of myself to try to achieve that one yet. That and it's too close to my half marathon. BUT...let's say I finish my half marathon in August. The Twin Cities Marathon has a 10 miler that I could potentially run. But the question is...would I be able to run a 10 miler just 2 months post half marathon? I'm still debating. The other problems that I foresee is that it's kind of a crowded race and I hate parking in the city. It's also not exactly a cheap race to run. So I'm thinking I should maybe halt it until I can run the full marathon next year. Anyway, give me your thoughts if you have any.