These shoes were made for runnin'!!

15K! I ran 15K!Last night, finally, I've concurred the 15K run, and MAN did it ever feel great! There really isn't anything that compares to accomplishing something that really physically challenges you. I'm reading this great book about running, it's got great tips on everything from the right gear to how to set reasonable goals, and in the first few pages it immediately refers to the "Runners' High". This is that rush of adrenaline you get after completing a hard run. You would think that after running 15k you would fall over exhausted, but actually, it's exactly the opposite. After you cool down a bit, and catch your breath, it's like a brand new day. You've got the energy to do anything, I cleaned the house, went to the grocery store, folded the laundry, made a great big dinner full of healthy fresh vegetables. I was the furthest thing from exhausted. I was so excited about what I had just accomplished and so proud of myself.. I wanted to turn around and do it again! Ok.. that's pushing it a bit.. but you get it.

It could have also had something to do with my new shoes! Last weekend I headed over to my local Running Room and got suited up with a fancy new pair of ACIS 2110's. This was quiet the experience, buying shoes from the Running Room. Usually when I shop for shoes (which let me tell you, I have plenty of experience doing) I look for the cutest pair in the store, get my size, and voila, mission accomplished. But not today. Kathy, the stores manager and running expert, spent at least 40 min with me making sure that the shoe I had was perfectly suited for my foot. First, she had me in bare feet walking and running around the store while she analyzed my gate and foot structure. Then she had me do a few exercises to evaluate where the weight is being distributed over my foot. Once she had enough info about how far I was running now, how often I was running and what type of running I was planning on doing, she went in the back and pulled out the appropriate shoe for me. I didn't even get to pick which one I wanted!! She just showed up with the shoes that I would need. I tried them all on, and WOW, what a difference. When you finally get the support in places that you didn't even know you needed support, it's like you just got a brand new pair of feet!! With the perfect shoe now, and a few accessories to boot (water belt and new socks) I walked out of the store only $200 poorer.

Training this weekend was a bit out of the ordinary. Saturday I decided not to workout and take a day of rest. I went down to the Clothing Show at the Automotive Center and spent the majority of the day walking around there. I didn't get much exercise myself, but whew, my VISA sure got a good workout. Sunday, I came across a whole new challenge, probably the hardest challenge of all. Running when you really, really REALLY don't want to run. It was cold and windy outside and I was a bit on the tired side and I would have rather done ANYTHING but go out for a 10k run. Urgh. But, not everyday is going to be easy, and if I really want to do this marathon, I'm going to have to train for it, even when I don't want to. So... I put on my shoes (this was Sunday morning before I bought the new shoes, so I didn't even have them to be excited about) and away I went. Every step was painful, from about the time I put the shoes on, to the point I was back in my house an hour later, every moment all I could think about was how much I DID NOT WANT TO BE RUNNING. But, this whole thing is about accomplishing challenges, and Sunday I accomplished a big one. That took a whole lotta effort and I did it. Hopefully those days are few and far between and I have more days like yesterday.

Fundraising is coming along, slow but surely I'll make it to $8,000. Stay tuned for more info on the clothing drive and the summer BBQ!

S.