Happiness Is...

...a new pair of running shoes!!

I bought a pair of Nike's from Kohls not too long ago and unfortunately for me they just didn't work! My toes are all torn up in very strange places, and calloused too. (Yeah my feet are zexy right now.) We went on a 4 mile run to Old Town Alexandria today (more on that later) and I'd had it with my shoes. So, we went to Pacers in Old Town to see if there was anything there. It was time to go to a real shoe store for a real pair of running shoes, especially with the increase in miles per week I'm doing which will only continue to increase.

We just kind of poked around in there, it was pretty small. Nothing too exciting (except they had a water cooler that you could use so that was great to get some nice cold water after the run in the SUN!) so we left. (Don't get me wrong, it's a nice store..just didn't have anything that really caught my eye at the time.) We also got to go to lunch with Erin and Jimmy which was really nice, especially since we saw them on Thursday too! (Thanks for meeting us down there guys! It was great to see you - as always - and we appreciated the ride back too, hehe)

After we got back here I decided to give another location of Pacers a try and went to the one in Clarendon where I had more luck! It seems to be the main store of the chain. Bigger and much more selection. A very sweet older man helped me out and actually fitted me for shoes: measured my feet like they did when you're a kid, had me walk the runway (in my socks), worked some magic and brought out 2 pairs of sneaks for me to try! He even let me go outside with them and jog around a little bit. I ended up with Brooks Glycerin 8 which feel like Heaven. Oh. My. God. I'm excited for our 5 miler tomorrow to see how they hold up during a run, and I have high hopes! We did go for a walk this evening and they felt amazing.

I also learned that you should absolutely NOT run in cotton socks as they absorb all the sweat (instead of wicking it away) which can be very abrasive, and is the #1 cause of blisters. While I try not to run in my cotton socks (I didn't know that i wasn't supposed to, it was just more comfortable I guess?), I have been guilty of this running sin! Not anymore though! Well, after I buy more non-cotton socks ;)

Aren't they spiffy?
And they were 15% off because Brooks is sponsoring Pacers Running Festival tomorrow!
Lucky Me!

Oh yeah, I was going to talk about the run. While it was good and sooo many crappy hills challenging, and always good to run outside (for training purposes as well as for fresh air) it was not the best because of the route we took. There were sooooo many traffic lights that made us stop. Once in a while a break is not something I'll complain about, but it's really hard to stop and go so frequently. It's much easier to get into a rhythm and just keep going, like Forrest ;) So next time we have a different plan for getting into Old Town and a different route we're going to take tomorrow (not to Old Town.)

Also, since signing up for the Half Marathon last weekend, I've started my "pre-training" schedule. Right now (and I'll probably do this for at least the whole month of May) this is my schedule:

	Mon.	Tue.	Wed.	Thu.	Fri.	Sat.	Sun.
Pre- Train	Off	3M	4M	4M	Off	3M	5M

Once I begin "official" training, I guess you could call it, I'll be following the schedule below. Although, I'm sure I'll repeat some weeks as it gets more challenging and I'll have more than 12 weeks left of training. Thank God!

Week	Mon.	Tue.	Wed.	Thu.	Fri.	Sat.	Sun.
1	Off	Fartlek (4M)	4M	4M	Off	3M	6M
2	Off	Fartlek (4M)	5M	3M	Off	3M	7M
3	Off	4-5 Hills 5K-10K pace	5M	3M	Off	3M	6M
4	Off	3-4 Long Hills 5K-10K pace	3M	4M	Off	3M	8M
5	Off	5-6 Hills 5K-10K pace	3M	4M	Off	3M	7M
6	Off	3 x Mile 5K-10K pace	4M	6M	Off	5M	9M
7	Off	3 x Mile 5K-10K pace	3M	5M	Off	3M	7M
8	Off	6 x 880s 5K-10K pace	5M	6M	Off	5M	10M
9	Off	6 x 880s 5K-10K pace	4M	7M	Off	3M	10K Race (Or 8M run)
10M	Off	4 x Mile 5K-10K pace	6M	7M	Off	6M	12M
11	Off	5M	5M	8M	Off	3M	8M
12	Off	5M	5M	8M	Off	3M	RACE DAY

I know I put in lots of links in this entry. Make sure you check them out! Enlighten yourself ;) Check back soon for more updates! Don't forget your Mom tomorrow on HER special day!