whoa

I should have taken Friday off...As soon as I started running I knew I should be resting. I hit my front door at 4.79 miles.
Saturday would have been better if I had rested Friday. I ran a slightly modified version of my old west Seattle loop. I ran down California Ave till I hit Alki, then followed the water home, 9.87 miles. It was way too hot for long pants, but I have Kinesio tape on my leg and I felt a little self conscious (incidentally the tape was very helpful!)
Saturday was a popular day to be on Alki, I prefer running it in the early mornings when I can hear the waves lapping quietly at the shore. Past Alki beach, the road becomes Beach Drive, a gorgeous strip, almost quaint in areas. It has the feel of a tiny beach front community, periodically broken up with expensive, new homes and condos.
The entire time I was running I had the urge to stop for any reason, I imagined myself enjoying a seafood salad and glass of wine in the outdoor section of Angelina's. I fought the urge to stop for iced coffee at every coffee shop I passed. I finally settled for a rest stop at the bath house on the beach, cool water from the drinking fountain and a PowerBar vanilla gel. I had never had this brand of gel before, it was delicious. It didn't have any caffeine, making it a good one to keep around for the rare instances when I don't want the extra jolt.
Mile 7 is when the pain picked up some momentum. I started counting down the miles till I could stop. I decided that there was no shame in walking when injured, I just couldn't do it though. At mile 9 I was half a mile from home (i thought) and at the bottom of a steep hill. Now I could walk. I started running at the top of the hill and found that the hip pain had passed...a good lesson to learn. I was exhausted but finally I was home.
I have an area that regularly blisters and has been building a bit of a callus. I knew I should do something about it. After the run I figured I would eat, then take a bath, allowing the area to soak then scrub at it with a pumice stone. I took off my sock and found a large blood blister had taken over the offending area. Damn...