Blister Update, and the Power of Belief

With trepidation after the events of yesterday, I hopped on the treadmill this morning for my recovery-paced miles. I can happily report that I was able to run with little discomfort, and there are no new blisters post-run.  Hopefully my new pair of Guide 7s will continue to serve me well.  This has been a heck of a learning experience for me, and I will definitely take action sooner if I have blisters after changing shoes in the future!  I'm especially glad that this did not impact any key workouts, and I didn't get behind on my weekly mileage. Onward and upward!

After I took that poignant photo, I had second thoughts and fished my shoes out of the trash. Just in case I ever donate my old shoes to make playground equipment or something. I made sure to label the shoebox, though:

I wouldn't wish those shoes on my worst enemy. Well, maybe Rita Jeptoo!

I actually want to explore something that occurred on Saturday after I returned home from my half marathon. I received an e-mail from the race company with my very detailed race results. It was the type that goes into how many people you passed and how many people passed you. I had seen these results on the race website right after I finished, but something stood out at me this time (SPOILER ALERT for non-Facebook fans! Recap coming soon, I promise!):

As I recapped on my Facebook page, my last four miles or so were not my favorite miles ever. I was trying to find another gear, and it was not to be found. Therefore, when I saw the "split" stat, I assumed that was the difference between my first half of the race (before the turnaround) and the second half. I posted accordingly in my recap, saying that I went out too fast and faded, to the tune of a 19-minute positive split. I tried to put a positive spin on it, saying that I still salvaged a PR so all was not lost. I let the "likes" and "atta girls" roll in, and didn't think much of it.

Lying in bed that night, my brain decided to do some math. If I had run an even-split race (51:14 x 2), I would have finished in 102:28, or 1:42:28. Um...I did positive-split the race, but only by 59 SECONDS, not 19 minutes.

Now, I do have a mild-to-moderate case of math anxiety -- I did all right in math classes, but I never enjoyed them and avoided them if at all possible.  However, that fact does not explain how I neglected to figure out that I didn't have a 19-minute positive split (what was that number for, anyway? The split from the 7Kers? We didn't split from the 7Kers!). I accepted a horrific stat as gospel with no cross-checking whatsoever.

What this says to me is that I let my "meh" feelings about my race performance get in the way of all reason. My "fade" felt that drastic to me, so I went with it. Now that I know the real numbers, I feel a lot better about my grasp of racing strategy, but what I need to do more of is positive self-talk.

I also need to keep on doing my speedwork (the next session is tomorrow!) so I can negative split my next half in three weeks. And, you know, I might also need to brush up on my math facts...

Image found here.