Surprise Chaffing and a Shoe Dilemma

This morning I was able to dive back into training. It was wonderful...well, it was wonderful when it was over. I had 12 x 400 intervals with a 400 recover and a mile warm up and cool down, for a total of 8 miles. I did the first six intervals at the same pace I did last week (supposed to be 5k pace), but after the first few, I noticed that I was winded as if I were sprinting, and 5k pace just shouldn't be that hard. So I slowed the last six down by about 30 seconds per mile and that was much better. I hate doing that, but I really don't want to overdo and get sick again. I still had some weird stomach cramping this morning. I don't know if that's left over from being sick or what.

You can't really tell, but I have orange socks, a yellow tank, and a green headband...super-stylish. Yet one more reason I love my treadmill.

Typically for runs that last more than an hour, I bring a pack of fruit snacks to eat. I totally forgot this morning until I hit mile 7 and started to feel a bit shaky. Of course, with one mile left, I'm not going to stop to grab something, so I persevered and grabbed a handful of gummy bears when I was done.

Breakfast of champions?

It used to be that I would use Bodyglide for anything over 6 miles, but lately I haven't been having any trouble with chaffing, so I didn't even think about it...until I stepped in the shower. You know that feeling when water first hits a chafe mark? There have been many times I was expecting that and I step into the shower with a bit of a cringe just waiting for that sting. I wasn't expecting it this morning, but ...surprise! That was a bit of a rude awakening. Apparently my newer sports bra isn't as broken in as I thought - duly noted.

A couple of weeks ago, my awesome mother bought me a pair of running shoes. She knows how much I love my new Brooks PureFlow 2's (and that we're super-poor right now), so she ordered me a pair of pink ones. I was really excited. My current pair are an 11 (don't judge, I'm 5'10") and they are amazingly comfortable, but a little bit short for long runs. Unfortunately, when I tried to run in my new ones, my feet were killing me after half a mile. I've tried twice now, but I think they are just a little too big. I was poised to send them back for the smaller size... but then I wore slightly thicker socks yesterday... and today I have two sore toenails. I'm torn. Should I try to break the new ones in a bit, or just make sure not to wear those socks again. Thoughts?

What are your favorite running shoes? ... favorite running fuel?