When I put my mind to something...

...my body doesn't always follow. I have the Army 10 Miler in ooohhhh....27 days. NBD. Riiiiight. HUGE deal. Since my project has been SO freaking hectic and the commute makes me want to shoot every person in Northern VA, I haven't had a chance to really exercise at all in oh, about 6 months. So needless to say I'm starting to freak out about running 10 miles. I mean, I know I've done it before, but to say I'm a bit out of shape is an understatement. When I ran the Color Run 5K I was super winded and my hips and left knee hurt. And that was only a fun run 5K (3 miles). Oh boy, 10 miles is going to be a joy!! The Army 10 Miler is an aspiring awesome race that words cannot describe, when I ran it in 2010 I was amazed to see how many single, double, and more amputees who spanked this race by running or hand-biking the entire 10 miles like it was nothing. Well, considering everything they've gone through, this race was probably easy-peasey. It makes all of my life's problems seem miniscule.

Anyways, back to my training schedule. I don't do anything lightly (stupid, I know). I decided I needed to do a trail run to assess just how badly out of shape I'm in. Yesterday I decided to run 8 miles. And how VERY PAINFUL were those 8 miles. I was ok until about mile 4 but then quickly degraded after that. I'd like to think it was because I didn't bring any water and was so super thirsty, but I know its because I'M OUT OF SHAPE LIKE WHOA. And my fatty thighs rubbed together in a not so pretty fashion and resulted in the below:

Yeah, it hurts as bad as it looks. Damn you chub rub!!

Well, at least it wasn't as bad as the last time. 

But the one thing that DID save me from hobbling today was these nifty PRO Compression Socks. I wore them during my race and afterwards (like wore them all day, even to advise the AU girls and their FBM). Here's me wearing them under my FBM formal attire (and HOW AWESOME is this chair in their Chapter Room?!?!):

How do these suckers work? From their website:

How They Work

PRO Compression socks are designed specifically to deliver both maximum comfort and speedy recovery times. The science is complex, but benefits such as improved blood flow, stability and comfort are universally understood.  The moment you put these socks on your feet and incorporate them into your game, you will feel and understand the difference.

PRO Compression socks are noticeably tight and require more effort to put on than standard socks in your drawer. But it’s that extra effort and much-needed compression that make all the difference. Be patient and your feet will thank you.

No really, your feet WILL thank you! I have practically NO muscle tightness or soreness today. I normally would have had all kinds of problems. These bad boys work WONDERS. I've only used the sleeves but they also have socks too. There are other brands of compression socks out there too. I found a discount on this brand through Active's Schwaggle, a sports based groupon system.

So I need lots of happy thoughts and prayers in the next month because this race is going to be BRUTAL on my body since I suck and haven't been able to properly train.