Today, five of us started out together with four different distances in mind. I was running 8 (run to the SAG), another 9 (modified the course), another 10 (first 5 with us then back), and the other two 13.1 miles – a full half marathon distance. I kept up (mostly) with the 13.1 group (Sara and Melanie), and got a return ride at the water / SAG stop that Lori set up. This was planned – although I could have gone a bit further but didn’t want to push too far too fast and risk injury.

My orthotics worked well, although I pushed the envelope of how long I should wear them. The run today was well over an hour which is the limit that I’m supposed to stick to for the first week. The limits are a bit loosy-goosy though, so it’s what I’m feeling comfortable with. So far, they have felt great when I’m running, but I have some knee pain afterwards from the foot straightening that they are doing. In time, all will be well! I replaced my shoes about the time that my foot problem occurred, but they are just a newer model of the same shoes I had, just without hundreds of miles of road wear. One good thing to note is that my old shoes showed even wear, meaning I don’t have any signs of pronating.

Nutritionally, I tried a different goo and broke open a pack of these gummy-bear like shot bloks from the makers of Clif Bar. Three of us shared them (a bit less than a serving each). You absolutely have to stop and chew them, though, since I believe you will choke if you try to keep running. The ones we had were orange and quite delicious – eaten at about 4.5 miles. I also had a vanilla goo with no caffeine a couple of miles later. To start the day, I had my usual single serving of instant oatmeal which works with my belly. I got a solid night of sleep last night as well, so all of the stars were in alignment to run well.

Next week, 3 on Tuesday, 6 on Wednesday, and 3 on Thursday, then 14 on Saturday. We are going to run the 3 with the beginning 10K team first (Lori is one of the coaches), then take off for another 10. I think we will freak out the beginners if they find out.