Baby Got New Shoes!!!!

Well, it seems my shoe woes are over for the next little while. After my run yesterday, I vowed not to run again until I got new shoes. It had to happen; it seems after running that one day in my terrible shoes, my feet were ruined even for my "good" shoes. So I emailed my coach and she sent me to Running Etc... in Norfolk. I walked in a bewildered newbie and walked back out 20 minutes later, still bewildered but with set of Saucony, Trigon 5s -- and feeling quite pleased with myself. I was almost tempted to put them right on but wasn't ready to ruin their pristine beauty in the sleet. So they have one more day in their pretty little box for tomorrow I run!

Wrong shoes...bad move....

So yesterday I went out for my first run of the week. Though before that, I had to run my son up to preschool and I slipped into my slip-on tennis shoes, thinking I would remember to change them before I went out running. Think again. I came home and went right out for my run, not thinking about my shoes until I was halfway done with my warm-up walk. I almost went home to change shoes, but then decided not to. Bad move: bad shoes, bad run. Boy were my feet miserable! Whereas I was hoping to pull an extra interval, I ended up just barely getting my assigned intervals done...and being happy about it.

So, I will never run in those again....and despite the fact that I have better shoes at home; they really aren't much better in comparison. So what's a beginner to do? I am not ready to sink tons of money into shoes, but at my age I need support for my feet. I'll have to turn to my personal running guru to find out what to get. Honestly, I have no idea how to choose a running shoe. Somewhere in my past I heard Reeboks were the bomb, but really they don't feel that great when I run. Any suggestions from my reading public are welcome. Remember: Beginner, middle-age, not too expensive. I'll think about sinking some real money into shoes after I get through the 8K ; )

So lets talk schedules....

Wouldn't it be nice if we could ease into everything in life with the likes of Interval Training? My goodness...running is NOT the misery for me now it has been in the past. I'm actually ENJOYING myself. Who would've thunk it? Of course, I'm still new to it all and I've just completed a week of 3 minutes running and 2 minutes walking -- next week on to 4/2.

Another thing I have is a running coach. Check her out here. I've got a ways to go to get to 8k, but I feel confident that I'll be able to do it. Though I can't participate in in person training because of my schedule; I have the benefit of emailed schedules and encouragement. It's nice to be able to get my questions answered, too. I've found that a coach can make all the difference. Otherwise, I would've done what I did in the past; put on my running shoes and headed out the door running until I was exhausted and not seeing any improvement. Inside of a month I'd give up. Now I'm full of energy and ready for more. Bring it on coach Mary!

I Committed Myself...

I went ahead and did it. Instead of just talking about, I went ahead and plunked down the money to sign up for the marathon. I am now officially registered and COMMITTED. I'm really going to do it. I'm going to pick up my packet, wear a number, and a timing chip. My run will be monitored and timed. I am in! To the right you can see an official count-down timer. I'm counting the days, minutes, and seconds I have to train myself. It's exhausting just to think about it; I'm going to bed. Tomorrow I'll blog about my really cold run tonight.

Knees

One thing I worried about before I started running was my knees. I became a mom sorta late in life (seems all relative these days)and it seems to have taken a toll on my knees; they don’t seem to have taken kindly to crawling around the floor chasing trains, balls, and bugs. It hurt to kneel and it hurt to get up again. I was starting to feel right crotchety. So I was necessarily worried about this running idea I had.

I decided to give it a try anyway. The first few steps in every running interval gets a little whine from my knees, but then they are fine. And, I can now happily report that my knees are better than fine—even off the street. I noticed this fact this morning as I was once again on the floor chasing trains; there was almost no pain. I am also able to get up again with no complaints. A Christmas miracle? Probably not, I think God has better things to waste his miracles on. More likely it has something to do with getting regular exercise. Mind you, one would hardly say I’m burning up the road with my running… I’m still running/walking, so we’ll see what happens down the road.

The Beginning....

I have been running for about 6 weeks now. If you know me and my attitude about running, you can pick your teeth up off the floor now. About the only thing I’ve had to say about running for the past twenty years is “I hate it”. It’s about one of the most consistent attitudes I’ve held in my life. So what brought about this seeming change of heart? Well, to put it bluntly, I got fat. I am 50 pounds overweight and live just a donut away from obesity. I’ve joined gyms and promised to go to the nautilus and swim a couple of times of week…blah, blah, blah…and I keep adding pounds. What I figured out recently is that I need a goal; more specifically a goal that doesn’t end in the words 50 pounds. It just sounds so daunting. And getting to the gym with two toddlers and a job…also daunting, not to mention a waste of my money.


So I began casting around for ideas. What in the world could I commit to? Though a noble thought, healthy living doesn’t seem to be motivating enough to get me to the gym. Then I started thinking about all my running friends, and marathons. It seems every weekend there is some marathon somewhere that they can run and they seem to get a real charge out of it; they are also thin and fit. I also began to think back to high school when I ran during soccer team practice. I hated running then, too. But…I wanted to play soccer and the coach required A LOT of running during practice. Miles and miles. I really wanted to play soccer, so I ran. I ran and I ran. I would get up at 5:30 in the morning to run. In the beginning of the season, I was way behind the end of the pack. Most of the time I couldn’t see the last person in the pack. But I was motivated; by the end of the season, I was running very near the front…even leading some days. Success! My running did come to an end when I was done with soccer…so a love did not develop, but a memory of success did. So here I am over twenty years later and I need success. So I’m signing up with the marathon crew. In 10 weeks (March 15th),I will be on the starting line of the 8k of the Shamrock Marathon in Virginia Beach. For those ten weeks, I’ll log my progress and learning and back sliding and grumbling here. Stop on by and cheer me on or whine with me. I can do anything for 10 weeks. Be warned though; it is not likely to be pretty. Apparently, if I complete it, I’ll get a little medal to hang around my neck. Woohoo!!!! I can’t remember the last time anyone gave me a medal for anything. Sign me up; I’m in! I just wish..they hadn’t mentioned it in the same breath as the CHILDREN’S marathon. Geesh…give me some pride..and the damn medal. ; ) If I happen to lose some pounds in the process, all the better.