Should I Run or Should I Walk?

It has been a while since my last post about training for the Big Sur Marathon-- for which Sony Electronics has selected me to be their Sony Walkman Runner -- but I assure you, I haven't been lounging on the couch eating bonbons. I've actually been doing quite a bit of training for the past 15 weeks! Almost all of it has been walking, because I was also training for the 60-mile Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure, which I completed last weekend. So I know for sure that I can walk it.... but can I run it?

My main problem these days has been my bum heel. A couple of years ago I developed heel pain which the doctor said was plantar fascitis, or heel spurs. If I run too often, or for too long (i.e. over 30 minutes) I end up hobbling the next day. So I'm faced with the reality that I may not been able to run the whole way. That hurts, in more ways than one, but I have to take care of my body and work with what I have. So once my aches and pains from the 3-Day event subsided, I went right back to training -- only this time, I'm sneaking in a few minutes of running between walking. Not much, just 5 minutes per spurt, but enough to total 20 minutes. So far it has worked -- my heel has been stiff in the mornings, but not really painful. This week I'm going to push it to 40 minutes and see what happens.

What I've found out (okay, what I've always known) is that the right kind of music definitely picks up my spirits and keeps me going. I've been using my new W-Series Walkman during my training and the music definitely spurs me on, heels spurs or not (sorry, I couldn't resist the pun). I'll be doing a proper review of the W-Series soon, but for now I have to say that the freedom from all those wires is great -- I can focus on enjoying the music instead of untangling the wires!

Disclosure: As a Sony Walkman Runner, Sony is sponsoring my registration fee to the Big Sur Half-Marathon. They also gave me a complimentary W-Series Walkman to "power me up" during my training and for the actual event. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.