Running for...Fair Tickets?

Saturday was supposed to be week 9, day 3 of One Hour Runner, a 55 minute run. I started with my usual half-bagel with cream cheese and added a bag of extreme sport beans. It was hot and I just felt exhausted. I only made it about thirteen minutes before I just completely ran out of energy. I'm also just hating my hydration belt more and more every time that I run with it. On Saturday it was bouncing around and the buckle was punching me in the abdomen. I think it would be fine for hiking, but it's torture for running. I'm about ready to give up on it and get one of these instead:

The reviews on Amazon and other sites are pretty good, and my friend Michelle just finished a full marathon using one on Sunday. She spoke highly of it, so it's probably worth a try. The heat was supposed to break after Sunday, so I decided to shelve the run for Monday and headed home. I really should have pushed ahead.

Speaking of Sunday, I ran the Arizona State Fair 5k. I completed the race in 29:09, coming in 75th overall and 8th in my division. I think that's a respectable finish. One I can improve upon for sure, but I'm happy with it.

The author posing with "Midway Marge," a State Fair mascot.

Included in the registration for the race was a pass for 5 to the Arizona State Fair. Admission is usually $10, so I've rounded up four friends to go next weekend.

Monday showed up right on schedule, cooler but still unseasonably warm, so I tried the 55 minute run again. This time I skipped the pre-run sport beans and just took a bag of the non-caffeinated variety as a refueling snack. I felt better, but after 2.6 miles I developed shin splints in my right leg for the first time. Actually, my whole right leg was getting sore; my quad, knee, IT band and ankle were also acting up. All of those I could power through, but the shin splint was too much. Somewhere around week 6 of the Couch-to-5K program, I was experiencing pain and weakness in my right knee, which I traced to a bad habit of turning my right toe in when I got tired and lazy. I think I was trying so hard to keep from turning my right toe in that I was just out of balance and landing really hard on my right foot. I'm going to spend the next couple of days icing my shin and knee while loading up on ibuprofen. I'll try for running 45 minutes on Thursday; if that's successful I'll push ahead to 6.2 miles on Saturday.