It's been a week of new running equipment! I finally got my FuelBelt on Monday. In retrospect, I think it's a good thing that I didn't get it before Saturday's run, because a super long run probably wouldn't have been the best place to test it out. I ran 5 miles on Tuesday with the belt, and it definitely took some getting used to. Figuring out how tightly to wear it and exactly where on my waist/hips I want it to rest will take some practice, plus the feeling of carrying extra weight around my middle is a strange one. Also, yesterday I went and got a new pair of shoes -- identical to the old ones except that instead of being pink with gray and silver trim, these are white with periwinkle and silver trim. They feel exactly the same, but hopefully will be easier on my knees and feet due to not being so worn out.

Andrew will be visiting this weekend, and I haven't been too keen on the idea of giving up our lazy Saturday morning together to go out for a team run at 5am. Fortunately, this week's team run will only be 8-10 miles, which is a manageable distance to do by myself, so I decided that I would do a long run on my own this morning so that I could skip Saturday's run. I went to Reid Park and did 9 miles. The weather was my least favorite for running: mid-80s, humid, and absolutely no breeze. I was drenched in sweat by the 1-mile marker (lovely) and could tell it was going to be a tough run. However, I'm learning that the toughness of any given run has at least as much to do with the weather as with me. This is a useful realization -- not because I can avoid running on the bad-weather days (I can't), but because I'm less likely to start catastrophizing about the implications for my ability to run a marathon in 6 weeks.

Around Mile 7, I was starting to have a pretty bad time: sweat was getting in my eyes, and the FuelBelt was rubbing uncomfortably on my lower back (which was already chafed up from Saturday's run -- darn shorts). So I ended up walking for the first half of Mile 7 and the first half of Mile 8. But then I was able to run in the last mile and a half. Not the most fun run ever, but at least I got the miles in!

Realistically, I probably won't run again until after Andrew leaves. We'll probably go hike on Mount Lemmon at some point over the weekend, so I'll get some exercise that way at least.