Week Three, Lesson 1

So many lessons learned this week... Lesson 1: Sometimes, you just have to say good-bye. Manda has been telling me for several weeks now that I need to get new shoes because it is irritating to run next to me and hear my right shoe squeak. They are about a year and a half old but look like they are in excellent shape-very little visible wear. I only wear them on my runs so they look okay. But, as we are putting on more and more mileage each week and the runs are getting longer it was time to say good-bye and buy new shoes. Now normally, this is not a time of sadness for me. After all, I am all girl when it comes to shoes. Woo Hoo new shoes!!! (normally) However, it was a little sad at the thought of getting rid of my first "real" running shoes. These shoes have seen me through a lot of difficult challenges and have been with me through some big landmarks in my little running world. Plus... they are REALLY comfortable and fit my foot well. I decided to shop online and see if I could get an identical replacement, but as luck would have it I can't seem to find them.

So, I had to go with plan B and hit the sporting good stores to find the new perfect fit. Mission sort-of accomplished. I did walk away with a pair of cute new running shoes (that were a steal of a deal on sale). I tried them out on our next run which happened to be a 4 mile run and they felt pretty good. I tried on several pairs in the store and went with some Nike trail runners that had good feeling balance, absorbency and great arch support. They still aren't my good ole' Adidas that I have such fond memories with and I can certainly feel a difference in my toes. I have a somewhat wide foot and my new shoes are just a little more snug feeling on the front of my toes (width wise) and I feel it after completing my runs. It isn't too uncomfortable, but coming from my ole' reliable pair to the new ones I can feel a difference. Of course, I am sure that if I continued to wear my ole' squeakers it would catch up with me in my knees and hip. For now, the Nike's will have to do. Any suggestions out there from experience? Do you think my new shoes will "break in" and feel more comfortable or should I shop again and perhaps keep looking for my good ole' Adidas replacements?

One of my darling, "Running Hero" friends suggested that I write my mileage on the bottom of my shoes and save them. Sounds good... but I haven't been good at logging my mileage until recently. Something that I am learning is a pretty cool thing to keep track of. It is rewarding to see the miles that you have accomplished. My next pair will be retired with the mileage written on them! Maybe I will just write, "#1" on my ole' squeaky pair. Manda bought a pair of New Balance and she loves her new shoes, so at least one of us walked away content with the purchase. I think she'll end up missing "squeaky" though. Now the only squeaking she'll hear is my lungs during that first mile and half each time we run.

Lesson 2

Do you ever find that you have to learn the same lesson over and over again in life? I guess that it is a sign that you haven't really "learned" it if you have to be taught the same thing over and over and over and over again. This week, I learned or re-learned another life lesson. Same lesson, new application.

While casually talking on facebook with one of my "Running Hero" friends in Texas, he mentioned that he was on the waiting list for the Texas Martahon. Being the complete blond I am, it was going through my head, "Poor guy, that's too bad that he didn't get into the marathon that he wanted". Then panic hit, and I started thinking, "What is the name of the marathon that Amanda and I are planning on doing?" Followed by, "Oh no, I should check again on the registration process of OUR marathon!" Do I really need to go on? Yes, I am sure you have all figured out by now that the marathon that Manda and I were planning on running is called... you guessed it...THE TEXAS MARATHON. The event is full and registration is closed even though we are still several months away from the race. So, here we are in our 3rd week of training after lots of pre-training and our names are on the waiting list of desired marathon. For now, we will continue with our training plan unless we hear that there is no hope of getting in.

I started looking at other options just in case we have to readjust our plans. Don't you worry... we are running a stinking marathon! It might not be our originally planned date or event but we will continue down the path. We were wanting to run the Texas Marathon for a couple of reasons:
First, the emotional attachment to Houston. Houston is just home for my kiddo's. Manda is a senior and marathon training is a big part of her "Senior Year". We have been dreaming of this for quite some time and it was going to be considered her senior trip to return back "home" and run our first marathon on home territory.
Second, my emotional attachment to FLAT ground to run my first marathon. Northern Idaho seems to be one giant hill after another. The only way to escape hill training is to do all your running on a treadmill. Otherwise, you are bound to find some hills. Trust me, I look for the flattest area that I can find to run on but if I want to be outside I am either going to have to run some hills or just do circles on the track. No thanks! I am certain that I would get bored on the track, not to mention, I would most likely lose count of how many times that I have gone around. A little extra burning in the leg is worth it to run on the trails that we have found. We just can't complain about the scenery. It is a little slice of Heaven. Having said that, I am still holding on to hope that we will somehow get into the Texas Marathon and be able to run our flat marathon in the mildly warm temps of January in South Texas.
If we can't get into OUR marathon, we could plan (and register right away) for a half marathon that runs in March in South Texas and run a full marathon here in Idaho in May/June. One of the challenges that we have found in the marathon world is that most marathons run on a Sunday. Sunday is a holy day for us and is our Sabbath. So, the challenge is finding a full marathon that runs on a Saturday and won't kill us with giant hills. Big lesson learned: Register as soon as they open up an event for registration. One of these days I will learn and I will actually stop procrastinating. =)