Treadmill Defeat

I consider myself a planner. When I decide to do something, it’s usually after a lot of thought over-thinking and research. I don’t usually make impulsive purchases and when I do I know there’s a good refund policy. With all of that said, I don’t know what I was thinking signing up for an early Spring race living in the Great Lakes region. We get cold, snowy winters! Our state is shaped like a mitten, for goodness sake!

We've been dealing with dangerously cold temperatures with no real relief in sight. After last week’s awesome (for me) 4-miler, I was forced to the treadmill for another 4 miles. Failed miserably and only got through 2 before calling it quits. Saturday, I was scheduled for my long run of 5 miles. We woke up to negative temperatures and I made the decision to do it on the treadmill.

 Big mistake.

 It was the worst run I've had since I began running towards my half-marathon goal. I barely ran half mile stretches before having to walk, or worse, completely stop. I had side stitches, heel pain, shin splints and could not catch my breath. Or, it was all in my head. Either way, running on a treadmill is giving me a serious case of anxiety over this race! I left the gym in tears. On the ride home I was given a pep talk assuring me that I could run a half-marathon and reminding me of how far I've come since I started running. It helped but in my head I was seriously doubting myself.

 I went to the running store and let the guy helping me talk me into a pair of neutral running shoes when I’m used to wearing stability. Right off the bat they felt the best and I tried on A LOT of shoes. I took them home and tried them on my treadmill and I hated them. They felt bulky, they poked my arch in all the wrong spots, they pulled my socks down into the shoe and there was a lot of pressure on the tops of my feet. After a half mile I changed back into my old shoes and packaged them back up for a return.

 I went to a different store (same company) in hopes of getting someone a little more knowledgeable in hard to fit feet and I lucked out. They did an entire new fit analysis on me and in the end I ordered a newer model of the current pair I've been running in. I’ll pick them up tomorrow before my long run of 6 miles but I won’t wear them until I can test them out on a treadmill. I’m planning on doing my long run outside this weekend! We might hit 30 degrees!

 I hope the weather breaks soon so I can get more running in outside…or I’m in big trouble on April 25th.