Good shoes!!

I took the new shoes/insoles for a spin around the block today and was pleasantly surprised - the only knee pain was residual from before and was substantially less than it had been! All in all, the store in Elkridge was definitely worth the trip out there. Here's hoping I can keep up with everyone tomorrow and that it doesn't rain too much ...

New car today! I'm impatiently waiting for work to end so I can go pick it up. :)

Road Runner Sports

At Tuesday's BWR session, the lead coach mentioned Road Runner Sports in Elkridge as a good place to get fitted for shoes. Since both Feet Fleet and RRS allow you to return shoes after you've run outside in them and I had a meeting in Glen Burnie this morning anyway, I decided to check them out during my lunch hour. They run a serious shoe-fitting operation there! You first get your feet measured, then you stand on this thing that figures out where you put the most pressure on your feet, then you run on a treadmill and your feet are videotaped, then they analyze that frame by frame, and THEN they potentially fit you for custom insoles. I was fitted for insoles since my feet do different things. It was interesting because they said the shoe I was in up til then was forcing my left leg to do things it wasn't built to do, which is probably why that knee (and only that knee) was hurting. I got the shoes and the insoles.

I was supposed to do a solo run today but didn't because I put a deposit down on my car!! I'm getting an orange Honda Fit and have named her Punkin. I'm picking her up tomorrow!! I feel a little bad for the Warrior, but I have to keep reminding myself that inanimate objects don't have feelings. Anyway, I've set my alarm for 6:45 so I can do a run tomorrow morning before work. I can bring ice with me to the office for my knees if necessary...

Frustrated

If you can't tell by the post title, I'm frustrated. I went to the BWR session today and didn't get very far before my knee started hurting. Well, to be fair, it never actually stopped hurting - it just tapered a little bit and then redoubled once the running movement started. I think it's an issue with the shoes. One of the coaches said the place I got my shoes from wasn't good, and she heartily recommended another one that's out in Elkridge or somewhere out in the boonies. Since I've got a meeting in Glen Burnie on Thursday, which is in the same part of the boonies, I'll check out the store then and bring my shoes. Also, supposedly Fleet Feet (Feet Fleet?) will take back my shoes even though they've been outside, so I'm not totally out $100.  I'll also ask them about the insoles Pat recommended.

Anyway, I stopped running after a couple laps because I didn't want to completely fuck up my knee, especially since my health insurance doesn't start until April 1. And even though it's not a competitive group, I'm still super frustrated that I can't keep up with the slowest people because of this damn knee issue. One of my coaches suggested MCRRC's upcoming stride clinic, so I signed up for that. I'll figure this damn thing out.

Disney Princess registration

I did some googling today and found that registration for the 2013 Disney Princess 1/2 Marathon starts July 10, so I have tons of time to figure myself out as a runner. It's about 3 weeks after my beginner women runner group finishes, and I'll probably end up doing another one of those groups for a longer-distance race if they have them for the fall. There's a winter half marathon one but it starts in January and finishes in May.

I'm finding I have left knee pain and right shin pain. Anyone have any suggestions on how to stop those? My mom has a knee brace she's going to lend me, so maybe that'll help me out. I was noticing on Saturday that my issue wasn't with my lungs and being out of breath; it was my legs hurting. I'm 27 - should I really have knee issues now??

I'm looking into replacing my bike. I had a Trek hybrid bike that I loved that got stolen in Denver last year. It would be good for cross training and also just because I really like to ride my bike. The DC area has some nice bike paths. I went to Revolution Cycle in Rockville yesterday and found a bike I loved, which turned out to be the newer version of the bike I had that was stolen. Hey, at least I'm consistent! ;)

Session 2 of BWR

I woke up dark and early this dreary morning to go run at Ken-Gar Park with the BWR group. When my alarm went off at 6:30 I thought, "Why in God's name is my alarm on?? Isn't it Saturday? ... Oh right, running group." I dragged myself out of bed by 6:45 and got there in plenty of time. It started out well, then I was noticing pain in my left knee and right shin. Whatever, I finished. We're starting out super slow and progressing gradually. Today we did .77 miles. Progress, right?

BWR

I had the first session of the Beginner Women Runners (BWR) group tonight. It went well. It started with introductions, and the coaches are all extremely positive, supportive and helpful. Then we had a time trial. We had to run around a track 1-4 times, depending on what we were comfortable with. I only ran/walked once since my knees started bothering me and I don't have health insurance for another 2 weeks. I did 1 loop in 4 minutes, which means I'll probably be in the slowest pace group, but everyone has to start somewhere, right?

Chi Running

I had my Chi Running workshop today and it went rather well! Some concepts I grasped immediately, some seemed to click once I got someone at the running store to fit me for shoes that make my feet do what they're supposed to do, and others will come with practice. I found that my shin splints generally seem to come from overextending my stride, so I have to work on taking smaller steps. I did it right once, and I was like, "But that doesn't feel like I'm doing anything." To which my instructor replied, "Exactly." Oh. Right. That was the point.

I met this really cool woman, LaVerne, at the workshop. She's 64 and started running a few years ago. Since then she's done the Marine Corps marathon, a few 1/2 marathons, and several shorter races. She did the running groups in MoCo that I signed up for and spoke very highly of them. She was also really encouraging of my beginner attempts and had some good stories. Many people there were very cool, but she's the one I ended up talking to the most. There were about 10 of us total.

I've heard from several varied sources that the #1 thing you should do when starting running is go to a specialty store to get fitted for the proper shoe. The woman at the store (Feet Fleet in Adams Morgan) saw how I walked, measured my feet, and came up with a few options. Then she told me to go run up and down the block in each of them. I ended up with Nike Zoom Structure +15s. They're way better than what I was running in before! I'll take them out for their inaugural spin tomorrow after work.

Once I got home I took a bubble bath and had a bit of an Ariel moment. Remember in The Little Mermaid how Ariel trades her voice for legs rather than a fishtail and she sort of sits in the water and is amazed at her legs and what they can do? I had a bizarre Ariel moment in the bath. When I was younger, I never thought about my legs. Once I got to college I started to gain weight and only thought about them in a critical manner. Then I went to Guatemala and, while still thinking of them as too big, they got devoured by mosquitoes and are still scarred from that, but I'm learning not to care. Anyway, today I started to think of them differently. Yeah, I'm curvy and most of that is in my hips and thighs. Yeah, they've got dings and marks and whatever. But they're also strong and getting stronger, and will be able to take me over distances at progressively faster speeds as I improve. I consider this progress.

I still haven't decided on which Disney race to do. I've scrapped the idea of the 2013 marathon, but I'm debating whether I want to do the 1/2 during marathon weekend in January or the Disney Princess 1/2 in February. A full marathon will still come at some point, but I think it's a better goal for me to start now with the half.

That was my day - how was yours?

Running group!

At the suggestion of a colleague, I joined the Beginning Women Runners group through MCRRC (Montgomery County Road Runners Club). It starts on Tuesday and consists of 2 weekly coached runs (Tuesday nights and Saturday mornings) with a bunch of other supportive beginner female runners. I'm excited! I think the Tuesday night ones start somewhere near the MC campus and the Saturday morning ones are at different places around the county. The coach seems really positive and enthusiastic, and she bakes! Score! My hope is that this will give me motivation to continue when I don't really feel like it, especially since I'm fully expecting to kind of hate it at the beginning, and will give me a solid foundation to continue on my own after June 16. Also, it's always good to meet new people.

Actually ...

I may do the Disney Princess 1/2 Marathon because I can get a tiara that way ... hmmmm ...

Hmmm

I'm working on the running ...

Found that registration opens tomorrow for the Wine & Dine Half Marathon. I'm debating doing that (though I know it fills up fast) instead of the Marathon Weekend because it's over my birthday weekend. Not a bad way to spend a birthday! Then again, January 2013 is the 20th anniversary of the Disney Marathon Weekend. Decisions, decisions...

Blarg

I went on another run today (I use the term "run" loosely at this point) and I'm not feeling it. I'm not running properly and had some serious shin splints. I'd stumbled (haha) across a book called "Chi Running" that's supposed to teach you a technique so that you can run without injury and with a lot less effort, both of which sound right up my alley. However, I suck at that technique. I went to the book's website and there's a half-day Chi Running workshop in DC on the 18th, so I signed up for that. It's probably worth it to go to and have someone who knows what they're doing show me what I'm doing wrong. There's also an instructor in Rockville but she's expensive.

Today's run made me frustrated and I'm back to thinking, especially given the shape I'm in now, that January 2013's goal should be a half marathon. Honestly, a 5K's a stretch for me right now. Given that, I think I want to do the Disney Princess one at the end of February/beginning of March because that looks more fun. Then again, maybe I'll stick to the half during the marathon weekend in January and that may give me the impetus to complete the full one the following year.

Feeling good

Even though I only ran (OK, ran/walked) a mile yesterday, I'm feeling it. I'm actually feeling it a lot in my abs, which I was not expecting. This is good because I will generally not do sit-ups or crunches of my own volition, so score.

I didn't do any running today. Last night I went out with Tracy and her husband Dan to Bethesda and ended up kind of hungover this morning after a whopping total of 3 beers. Yeah, I really know how to live it up. What makes me feel even older is that they picked me up after 10:30 and I kept thinking, "This is so far past my bedtime." I swear I'm really only 27.

Mom said she thinks I can do the full marathon in January and she'll hold me accountable to it. There's a half marathon in Chestertown, MD on September 22 that's completely flat and that may be a good goal to work towards. I should probably be able to run 13.1 by then if I want to make the 26.2 a few months later, so I'll shoot for that. Disney also does a Wine & Dine half marathon my birthday weekend in November, and I briefly thought about doing that instead of the full January one, but it's sold out so it's a moot point. Still though, it's at night and you run through Epcot and they've got food there from all these countries. Sounds good to me. 2013? Or 2014, for my 30th? Damn, I'm getting old enough to start planning my 30th birthday.

I'm thinking maybe the half

OK, so be honest - any of you who are reading this. Am I better off with the half??? I read somewhere that registration for the January 2013 marathon weekend in Disney starts either late March or early April, which is a lot sooner than I was expecting. Perhaps it's better for me to do the half in January 2013 and possibly work up to the full in 2014 if I like the half. Thoughts?

I started!

Well, I started. It stopped raining (finally) and I went outside and did a mile around the track at the Jewish school that's sorta in the neighborhood. Mainly I walked with some spurts of running. I've gotta start somewhere, right? Once I finished my mile I got in the car and went home I remembered that I'd read something about going by time rather than by miles, and that the first bouts should be roughly 30 minutes. The mile did not take 30 minutes. Oh well - tomorrow/Monday I'll do that.

Welcome to the Zombie Horde!

"Greetings our future undead friend,

You are officially a member of the Run For Your Lives Zombie Horde.  Without zombies like you our event would not be a success and our hopes and dreams of a worldwide infection would never become a reality.

Before you know it, you’ll be chowing down on delicious brains but, until then, please take a few minutes to carefully read through the information below."

Words can't describe how excited I am right now. My friend Tracy sent me a link to the most amazing event EVER: http://runforyourlives.com/ I am officially going to be partaking in the Baltimore Zombie Apocalypse. I'm a stumbling zombie in the 3rd shift (2-5pm). I get lots of awesome fun perks and I think the most exciting one is that professional makeup artists and costume people are going to make me into a zombie. Oh. My. God. I feel like my day has come at last. The race is October 27 - HALLOWEEN WEEKEND! It's my favorite time of year, my favorite holiday, I'll get to be an effing ZOMBIE, and then I turn 28 less than 2 weeks later. Expect lots of pictures and you can be assured that if something goes terribly wrong and I become an actual zombie, I will have died rather excited and happy. Holy shit.