Learning curve

according to my training schedule, i was up for a 2 mile walk tonight (no, i didn't go out after all last night, so tonight was a training day) and i am getting a little bored with the track, so i decided to map out a new route for tonight's outing. well, i went on google maps to map out the route and headed out the opposite direction that i usually go. i had planned what i thought was a relatively simple route until i actually got on it and there were roads in places that the map didn't think there were so i got a little lost. i feel a little silly getting lost in my own neighborhood, but in my defense, this place is a bit like a rat maze where only a few of the roads actually interact with other roads. there are LOTS of dead ends not to mention a golf course and a big lake in the middle of it all. at any rate, i got turned around and went the wrong direction at one point and didn't actually know where i was until i found one of the main beaches (remember that big lake thing i mentioned?) fortunately, there are potties at the beaches and i really had to pee! well, once i got my bearings and figured out where the beach was in relation to the house, i set out to go home.

about 5 more minutes after this, i made another realization. the cool socks that i bought from the running store (which i was a little hesitant about since they were $12 and i have never spent that much on a pair of socks before) had been in the laundry, so i just wore some plain old cotton socks. Can i tell you that i am going to the running store tomorrow to buy like 5 more pairs of good socks? they claim to reduce friction and prevent blistering, and i was a little skeptical until i went out tonight for the first time in the new shoes without them. about a mile and a half from home, my heels really started to burn and i realized that i am very sad without my good socks. i tried tying my shoes a little tighter to prevent slipping and got to hoofing the last distance of the walk. with a little over a mile left, i felt like someone was scraping my heels with a vegetable peeler each time i took a step and i realized i was going to have to pull out some deep resources to get through this walk. i started to focus on the scenery, to check out what the neighbors were doing with their landscaping, and i even came about 5 feet from a little doe that was munching on someone's lawn (might have actually missed that if not paying attention, she was pretty still. i actually thought she was a lawn ornament when i first saw her!). when i finally turned the corner on the road that leads to my road, i was so excited that i actually picked my pace up a little and started to jog. As soon as i made it to my street, i broke into a decent sprint and sprinted the final distance, all the while fantasizing about getting my shoes off!

so, in all, 3 lessons learned:

1) when you go somewhere new, don't just look at the map, print the map and take it with.
2) good socks are worth the expense
3) i can keep going even when it hurts like hell!

and though my time wasn't great (3.5 miles in an hour, so 17:06 minute mile average with blister stops) my muscles and heart and lungs weren't really complaining at all, though i may just not have been able to hear them over the din of the heels. i guess my other lesson is i will be investing in some moleskin!