9 miles

Last Sunday, when I was working  over at my sister's house without the kiddos' constant distractions, we took a little break and went to a running store called Run On. KL needed some new running shoes - well, she needed running shoes in general as the shoes she had been running on were cute, but not really meant for running - and I wanted some sports nutrition. We both left with a little more than we had intended, but our extra purchases were so worth it! I bought my first pair of compression sleeves - Zensah hot pink calf sleeves. They were $39.99, which seems to be a few bucks less than a lot of other brands I've heard of. I also walked out with a variety of sports nutrition gels to try out as well. KL got new shoes, running socks, and sports nutrition as well.

I was really excited to try all my running gear out. I felt like a "real" runner - even if hot pink calf sleeves are the opposite of sexy. Especially when paired with capris and a green t-shirt, which is what I did yesterday when I went for my long run. I'm sure the ladies at my gym thought I was a weird-o with no fashion sense. I might have looked like a fool, but my run was amazing. I did my 9 mile long run for my half marathon training, which is QUICKLY approaching! I had been kind of dreading it all week long because of a little running funk I had been in recently. I think part of the reason that I didn't really want to do my long run was because when I did my 8 mile run, my legs HURT. For days afterwards hurt. It was not particularly pleasant, and I was really not wanting to go through the pain again. However, now I had my new compression sleeves and the gooey goodness of the gel sports nutrition to get me through.

And get me through they did! I took/ate/drank a goo packet about 10 minutes before I started running, and took another one about one hour into my run. I have to say, I was a *little* skeptical of sports nutrition. I wasn't sure if it was really important, or just a gimmick to make you buy something that you didn't really need. I'm here to tell you, that salty goodness was worth it. I was really trying to get all 9 miles in before I had to get the kids out of the gym daycare (they have a 2 hour time limit), and with my speed, I knew I was going to be pushing it to finish it and get a cool down in. So I had been running at a little faster pace than was my norm. With the goo, though, I was able to make it through and not feel like I was going to pass out. Which is always a bonus!

I had put my calf sleeves on before I started running, and left them on for about 4 hours afterwards. I love them. I will now religiously wear them for my long runs, regardless of how silly I look in them! Throughout the run, my legs felt nice and strong. After the race, the compression did something miraculous to my legs. That's the only way to describe it because today, I feel no pain. None! If you've been thinking about getting compression gear, stop thinking about it and just go do it. Seriously, it made a huge difference. The one complaint I have about compression sleeves (and this is in general, not just relating to the pair that I bought) is that there is no information on how long you are supposed to wear them for to receive the maximum benefit. Reading some blogs, I gathered that some people leave them on overnight, but I don't know if that is what you are supposed to do. I figured 4 hours was a decent amount of time, and I don't feel any pain today so I guess that was a good time limit. Maybe it's supposed to be subjective??

Running has been a learning process. And not just learning about gear. I'm also learning about my body, how my body (and mind!) reacts to short vs. distance runs, how those first 3 miles are HELL until my runner's high starts kicking in and I get into a good rhythm, and how at peace or zen I feel after a fun. Running is so much more to me than just getting in shape and looking good. It is my "me" time, my time to test myself and my strength, to reflect on the day or just focus all of my thoughts and energy into getting to the next mile. I love it. Love, love, love it!!