With a good pair of shoes, you can conquer the world. Or at least 2 miles of it.

Sorry about the two week hiatus. But my lack of posts does not translate into a lack of running (-ish).

I did go out of town that first weekend in August to visit my runner friend and I joked about not being able to keep up with her on her run so I would just accompany her on her warm-up. She let me (gently) know that she does 9 minute mile warm-ups. There was some uncomfortable laughter, because, yeah, that was not going to happen for me. However, when she went out for her run, I did use her treadmill to do a run of my own at a slower pace. I was proud of myself for actually running on my "birthday vacation".  Little victories, people. I could have been drinking wine (which I pretty much did every other minute of that weekend).

The following week is blurry (probably all that wine), but I think I only did the elliptical. We went out of town again last weekend to visit another friend, who happens to be training for her own half-marathon. She ran at a great pace for me, but her distance was something I couldn't match. It didn't help that halfway through our run my legs & toes had cramped up pretty bad and I just couldn't recover from it. We slowed down to a walk/jog combo and gossipped, which also happens to be great for your heart. Look it up.

Later that day we started talking about shoes and she took me to a running store she liked. I was in desperate need for running shoes anyway, as the soles of mine were literally peeling away from the shoe. I have to admit it was a little more than awkward to meet Mr. Super-fit Runner Man and have to run around the store for him so he could see how I run and what kind of shoes I would need. Thankfully he was non-judgemental, he knew what he was talking about, and he got me a great pair of shoes. It also turns out that my current shoes were a size too small. Apparently running shoes should be bigger because your toes need a little extra room and while my old ones fit, they weren't doing my new running feet any favors.

This past week I did the elliptical on Tuesday due to weather but tested out my new shoes yesterday. They made all of the difference. I did an easy 2.25 miles and actually felt that I could go further. I avoided all toe/leg cramps and didn't have the tiniest bit of soreness today. Plus, thanks to my awesome husband, I had some tunes to run with (new birthday ipod nano). This probably helped in my running as I no longer have to listen to my labored breathing. Trust me, hearing yourself sound like you are gasping for your last breaths constantly does not make you feel good about yourself as a runner.

I also conquered another fear yesterday - I ran along major roads. I have always been hesitant to do this, anxious of honking and screams of "spandex is not a good look for you!". I am happy to report that none of that occurred. Drivers seemed to keep their opinions to themselves and my run was -gasp- enjoyable! I took extra satisfaction from running past the McDonalds and looking down at all the people in the drive-thru while I did something healthy. I only say looking down in the literal sense, as the McDonalds is at the bottom of the hill next to the road that I ran along.

I've got another run planned for this weekend. I've been using a modified training plan that incorporates walking into your run. I have a book by Jeff Galloway who promotes injury-free running by incorporating short walk breaks into your route.  The idea behind it is that if you give your running muscles a break before they get too exhausted they recover immediately. So I ran a full mile, walked .2 miles and then ran the rest. I'm not sure if it was the breaks, or the new shoes, but it really worked. I'll hopefully add a little more distance to my run and keep everyone posted on this new method. After all, I'm not running this half-marathon to break any records, I'm running to raise money and to cross that finish line.

Speaking of raising money, I had an excellent fundraising week - I surpassed my initial goal! I have now raised over $1000 for the kids of St. Jude. Much thanks to my brother, Leah's generous Uncle Charlie.

If you are interested in donating to the hospital, in honor of Leah, here is my page:
http://www.mystjudeheroes.org/LeahsHope
I can promise you that your money saves children's lives - my daughter is living proof.

Weeks until marathon: 15

Leah news.. and other victories

Well, the little miracle baby that I'm running this marathon in honor of is doing great. We got home from Memphis last night after another stellar checkup. All of her labs are good and she was given a good prognosis! We've never lost hope throughout this journey, but today feel like we are practically swimming in it.

Note: The above paragraph, while wonderful, is acting as a distraction so I don't have to report on my running progress.

Oh right, this is a running blog, not her caringbridge site. Crap.

Okay, so the running has been going alright. I finished up last week on the elliptical because it really was just too damn hot. Since the marathon isn't until December I don't bother trying to rationalize running in the heat - I just avoid it. Saturday's run was all set (we were even out of town - go me!) but imagine my (fake) dismay when I realized I packed everything but my running shoes. This was very much NOT intentional, just a happy coincidence. Instead, I made a huge pitcher of sangria and gave us all a pretty decent hangover for Sunday.

This week got off to a better start on Monday with a decent run of about 1.5 miles. I did not let my very long list of errands or the pending thunderstorms stop me (this resulted in only 3 1/2 hours of sleep before our trip and being rained on - but at least I did it). Both of my younger sisters "joined" me in my run. We were about 500 feet into the run when they both took off, leaving me behind and music-less. I thought we would chat during the run, so I agreed to leave my mp3 player behind. Instead, I got left behind. Those two are close in age and pretty competitive, so they started racing each other; and let's be honest - neither one of them wanted to finish after their much older and much more out of shape sister.

Towards the end of the run, after they were VERY FAR out of sight I managed to hop a fence and cut one of them off. She didn't know how I beat her, which made my victory even sweeter! My shortcut resulted in me running about a quarter mile less and skipping that nasty hill, so I definitely think it was a major victory on my part. I probably can't get away with that in the marathon, and I'm sure I'm just "cheating myself" (silly phrase invented by tattle-tales and teachers?  I think so!), but on Monday I still counted it as a win. If the marathon is both a mental and physical challenge I'm gonna count Monday as an exercise in both.

Another victory this week: my first donation! Thanks Jeff. Jeff ran across America earlier this year. Seriously, the whole country. I think he racked up over 3,700 miles. I'm embarrassed he reads this. I'm sure he wouldn't fence jump. Thanks for the donation though, I promise it is a very worthy cause - St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is a place of miracles. And I will keep working towards a more respectable running distance.

So Thursdays are my usual running days, but I'm skipping it tonight in order to celebrate my birthday. Seems pretty justified, but I do have plans to get up early to get a run in tomorrow. Then I'm spending the weekend out of town with a real marathon runner. She seems excited that I'm taking on this challenge and wants to run this weekend. I think I'm gonna have to find some more fences to jump, er, um.. wait. What? Oh right, no more of that.. hopefully, she'll have mercy on me and just take me along for her warm-up.


Weeks until the marathon: 17.5
Miles run: um, I think I'll start counting this next week




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