Blister

On the training plan for today was a 13-mile run, the St Paul Winter Carnival Half Marathon. But at minus ten degrees, I chickened out, even though they had cut it to 6.5 miles, and ran on the indoor track at the club instead. I wanted to run seven miles, and was doing fine, when Thursday’s blister started to bother again, even though covered by a band-aid. No runner stops for a mere blister on a toe, but:

• We have a marathon coming up soon,
• It is possible for a blister to become infected,
• Theoretically, my immune system is compromised because of the myeloma and the chemo,
• So an infection could possibly take me out of the marathon,
• I’d rather finish the marathon at ANY speed than sit home with a swollen toe or foot, and
• Two more miles of training really wouldn’t make much difference.

So I stopped at five miles, did my stretches, and went home to treat the blister and run again another day.

Good news though - for those five miles I had a really good run - no other pains. Excellent run in fact. Overall pace 8:41, and the breathing was easy. I think of myself as a morning runner, but I’m having good runs in the afternoon lately. It’s a masterpiece.

Splits: 8:48, 8:35, 8:47, 8:32, 8:42, total 43:24, pace 8:41.



Lunch: Organic chicken with spices, organic baked beans with a squirt of organic mustard, organic mixed vegetables.