is it bad to enjoy rubbing the salt crust (that much) off your cheeks?

i am coming out of the closet (and wearing moderate support brook's running shoes for the overpronated); $85 has been charged for the opportunity to run, stumble, and plod through a marathon this summer. yes, this is going to be my year for comittments. while i am habitually incapable of doing anything more challenging than adjust the time on my heart rate monitor, completing 26.2 miles will prove that i can take on something difficult, hard, and painful (even when i am dying to pack it in). it will be great "til death us do part" practice.

base mileage training has begun. the most recent, long distance past continuous narrative included: wicking, sweating, panting, grunting, pounding, and "lactating" salt from every pore. the future continuous has the potential for defibrillating, resuscitating, and more than likely, burial.

it is january, and too bloody cold to be spending several hours at a time absorbing windchill and errant snow storms. fortunately the new, overpiced, but oh so cute hot pink "baselayer" did it's job. however, i will probably need to invest in a matching bank robber ski mask base in order to prevent further mucusicles around mile 6.

longer mileage also means learning how to "fuel" appropriately (as opposed to eating a bowl of granola an hour before, suffering with cramps, running until the point of collapse, to then chug down a litre of powerade). i cannot do gu, granted i've never tried gu, but the thought of smacking down on high octane betty crocker frosting when im overheated with saliva crystals at the corners of my mouth is highly unappealing. sport's beans (not the red, black or boston baked) are now my new best road buddy.

mileage in the double digits also means a perpetual state of 'delayed onset muscle soreness', where lowering myself to sit on the toilet (10 miles of constant bumping up and down sort of necessitates a "sit") requires clutching the edge of the sink (fortunately positioned in front of the loo) to 'lift and lower'.

black toenail status: some minor, purple tinges, but probably more related to the bloody frigid temperatures.