Totally appropriate dinner conversation, right? To make matters worse, I’m pretty sure the words “did I send you the picture of my foot…? I didn’t? Here, I’ll show you now, it’s totally disgusting…” were spoken by both of us at some point.

Oh yeah, and you read into that correctly. Our friendship is in a whole new place thanks to this training – we have both suffered from trying to capture the perfect photos of our mangled feet…saying things like “it’s looking better!” or “oh look, it has a friend now!” or “I shall call it Sekhmet!” (Yes, I gave a rather large blister the name of an Egyptian goddess…I wanted to encourage it to become something great and not just pop and be a mess in my shoe, haha)

Feet are resilient little suckers.

My feet in particular are letting me know just how unhappy they are that I’m still running in old shoes. I keep reassuring them that I have spoken with the Easter Bunny and that a new pair of shoes (and maybe some new compression socks too…hint hint if you’re reading this mom!) will be next to our basket of Cadbury Eggs and mini liquor bottles…but they are getting impatient and acting out.

…I’ll spare you all and NOT show pictures.

Most importantly of all during weeks 5 & 6 – all this added mileage means more gym time…and more gym time means more social observations! Taking more of a sociological/anthropological approach to going to the gym has been the best way for me to cope with having to go there in the first place. Thankfully it looks like the weather is going to be improving soon…so I may have my first outdoor run during week 7!

Let’s see…I believe I left off with number 15 the last time I made this list? So let’s continue:

16. Imagine the gym is nearly empty (it’s rare, I know) and that you are the only one using a treadmill. The next person who shows up to run is going to pick the machine RIGHT NEXT TO YOU.

17. There is no way to gracefully, or discreetly, pick a wedgie anywhere in the gym – unless you are in a bathroom stall. (To the guy who…umm…how do I phrase this…adjusted his junk(?) while he was running next to me one night – yeah. Saw you.)

18. It is also nearly impossible to discreetly belch after chasing down an energy chew with some water. (Luckily for me chews are only present during runs over 10 miles long…)

19. Not all treadmills are created equal – each one has its quirks when it comes to acknowledging whether or not your iPod is plugged in, whether or not it will transmit sound to your headphones when you plug them in…but more importantly I’m pretty sure that sometimes, even though I’m set to the same speed each time, it takes longer for me to go the same distance. (Or is this just my imagination?)

20. It may just be a weird coincidence, but it seems like any time I pay attention to the distance someone next to me is running – they stop after 5k.

21. Why is the area around the sink in the bathroom ALWAYS WET? I’m not just talking a few drops of water here and there…I’m talking like someone took a bucket and splashed it on the counter.

22. Whose sick idea was it not to have some sort of shelf in the shower for me to put my shampoo and conditioner bottles on?

23. There is no consistency when it comes to how crowded the gym will be.

24. There will be moments when you think you’re making eye contact in the mirror with someone who is lifting weights on the floor…but they are just watching their own form. (At least…I think they are. Maybe next time I’ll test it and wave or make a funny face at someone…)

25. Forgetting your headphones and therefore ending up stuck listening to the sounds of the gym – the breathing, the feet hitting the treadmills, the weights clunking on the machines, the one or two ellipticals that squeak with every other step someone takes, and the collective humming of the treadmills and bikes – will be something that you only do ONCE. Such torture cannot be endured more times than that.

…ugh it’s so true. My night of forgotten headphones did not go well. It was a 6 mile run that night and I had to fight for every quarter mile of it.

I hope training is going well for the rest of you and that you all got just as weirdly excited as I did when we flipped the calendar one month closer to race day!

Until next time,

Sarah

(Who was a good girl and performed her civic duty – and no, I didn’t write in Frank Underwood)