Nothing's simple

I had the best short run Tuesday night on the treadmill at the gym. I started doing 5.5 mph, feeling that the usual 5.3 was too slow. It must be the heel up running- quick touches on the ground meant a faster pace. I felt I could have run much faster, and no pain! It was bliss. I met one of the run coaches while stretching, and she told me about this cardio program at the gym, and that there was a free trial that evening. So I stopped my run and did the cardio workout- essentially this was zone training. I still felt good. So much so that after that, I went again on the treadmill. The total for the night was 4.5 miles.

That night, I got this email saying that my old gym run club was running on treadmills in the morning. Since I haven't joined them for 2 weeks, I thought this was a good way of showing my face again. So off to the gym at 6 AM, and we did interval training on treadmills. This was not as good as my run the night before. Maybe I overdid it, with back-to-back runs, but there was some shin and calf pain. I ran 3.5 miles total, and almost got my daughter late for school. I also went up to 7 mph speeds, and my HR even hit 180 bpm! So yeah, maybe I overdid it.

The rest of the day was fine- I could walk, but I certainly felt something in the left shin the whole day. Massage helped, but I decided to skip Taekwondo just in case. I do feel good about doing 9 miles already, and it's only Wednesday. So now I am thinking of swimming or biking tomorrow, time permitting.

So what about the title of this post? The cardio training, if I sign up for it, costs $499 for 12 sessions! And I thought running was one of the cheapest sports! All I want is to finish a marathon- I've got good shoes, a training program, a HR monitor, friends to do long runs with- I say that should be enough. But, nothing is simple...

I am also looking at a FuelBelt for Saturday's 14 miler. The 4-bottle Helium (8 oz. each) look good, and felt good at the store, and has nice reviews, but it is $49.95. Again, nothing is simple... The older version- the Endurance is cheaper at $36, but the Helium seems to be more comfortable. I do know that I don't like the 6-bottle ones- the middle bottles hit my arms, and I would have to change my personal trainer-certified *perfect* arm form. This is one where I probably have to cough up the cash- so see you in a new FuelBelt?