duct tape

Since I got those terrible blisters a couple weeks ago, I have been going light on my runs. I really need to stop that since I'm supposed to be in training mode! Today I went out for a 3 mile run with my mom, her first outdoor run, and as a preventative measure, I duct taped my arches. I haven't found shoes I love as much as the ones I'd like to retire so I'm still wearing them. Since I was out of commission for a couple days, this time I decided to try to prevent them. I wore better socks and I duct taped up my arches. It felt a bit odd, having tape on my foot, but it did the trick! It worked like a miracle.

Red tape was a fashion statement, right? lol

Now if only my calves didn't hurt so bad right now, I'd say I am in pretty decent shape! I think my calf pain has more to do with the 4 hours wandering around Woodbury Commons tonight in sandals with no support. My ankles are pretty sore too. Here's hoping that tomorrow morning I'll feel a bit better and I'll be able to head to the gym for my hardcore elliptical/weights workout I have planned.

Wednesday and today I dipped my toes into a bit of yoga. I have heard that it is a great way to stretch for running, but it also is super calming and is just over all good for the psyche. My goal is to do it at least once a week to stretch out my muscles and joints, but hopefully more often that that. Jenna over at Eat, Live, Run suggested podcasts as a good intro because they are widely available and cheap if not free. I went searching for some and the ones that caught my eye (based on name alone - I knew I could get Mike to do these with me!) were called Fit for Duty. They are from the Pentagon channel and it is military personnel conducting the class. (Mike has a love for all things military - old and new) Since I wanted Mike to join me for the yoga time I picked a few of these and downloaded them. I was really pleasantly surprised! They were great for beginners like us, yet had some more challenging poses for me. I'm a bit more flexible than the average person, I'll have to write about that in another post, so in the past I have found beginners yoga a bit boring, but advanced yoga was difficult especially since I didn't know any poses! I have the flexibility, but not the strength. This podcast was perfect. I'll definitely be downloading and trying more of their sessions!