A Series of Unfortunate Bodily Events

Summer 2021's first weekend was quite eventful in both running and in unfortunate events. 

To start, I decided to try out my new Puma Deviate Nitro (a carbon-plated shoe) for the first time for my long run on Friday. I knew I was going to be throwing in some moderate-paced miles and wanted an extra super shoe boost. The shoes have a great ride--more cushion than a regular racing flat but light enough so that you can really lean into some speed. The run was going really well up until almost the halfway point where I discovered I had a dreaded heel blister that was progressively getting worse with each step. This was the first unfortunate bodily event. 

I've experienced heel blisters before but don't remember the last time it happened on a pair of new running shoes. I used to get them quite often when I was younger with non-running shoes. The Pumas felt good right out of the box and I didn't even register that this could possibly come up at some point otherwise I would have taped up my heels preventatively. With still 6.5 miles to go, I tried to think about what I could use for a temporary solution to stop the rubbing of the shoe onto my skin. I used a leaf at first, but that wasn't sturdy enough. Then I stumbled upon a piece of trash that turned into my treasured temporary fix--a partial Clif Bar wrapper. While it provided some relief, I was looking forward to getting back to my car and taking my shoes off. 

The beautiful dirt roads north of Ann Arbor

I ended up still maintaining a pretty fast pace for the whole 12-mile run, a 7:24 per mile average with a 7:08 average on the middle miles on rolling dirt. Another positive takeaway from the run was that the temperature and humidity, at high 60s and around 80% humidity, didn't feel terrible. Acclimatization is a beautiful process. 

Now the second mishap of the weekend happened while I was refueling from the long run. While I was eating a wonderful toast with eggs at a friend's house, half of my front left tooth broke off. It had already been chipped several months earlier and I delayed seeing my dentist out of generalized dentist anxiety. I couldn't put it off any longer. Unfortunately my dentist office is closed on Fridays, only open on weekends by appointment only, and could not get me scheduled until Monday morning. I got the tooth filled in Monday and no longer look like I just won a bar fight. 

Saturday's easy recovery run was a little more difficult with higher humidity and a later start time due to staying up late for work. I wanted to let my body dictate the pace and settled on a comfortable 8:25 average for 10 miles with the last three closer to 9 minute pace after really overheating. While last year I probably would have ran with a handheld water bottle under those conditions, this year the city water fountains are back on and I stopped at the Argo Canoe Livery fountain to take a 90-second sip. 

The last ailment to hit my system this past weekend was a creaky voice and some sinus issues. These started popping up later in the day on Saturday. I'm not sure if it was from the fluctuating weather patterns, a stress response, or my broken tooth somehow impacting the tonsil and throat system, but I just had to laugh about how quickly my body fell apart, from head to toe. 

Now it's Monday and I seem to be doing much better. My tooth is back, my voice is almost back, and I'm looking forward to closing out this month of training strong.