New shoes, new attitude, ready to reclaim what I had

Dear James, Daniel and Emily,

Friday morning I just didn't feel like getting up and walking, which was the signal to me that I just needed to get the new shoes sooner rather than later. Not being able to run or at least run comfortably was really taking a toll emotionally. So that's what I did, settling on some New Balance 690's, bought 2 pair. But this time I am going to be smarter, I just put 1 pair in the closet, and will restrict the use of these to just my running, no more using for regular shoes on off days etc.

Saturday morning I put them on and went for a short 2 mile run, and boy did they make a difference! My legs felt good, the run was comfortable and it was great. My knee was still sore, but it was sore before I even started, and it didn't feel any better or worse after the run. Sunday I went for my scheduled 30 minute run, and again it was great. And today I did my scheduled speed training, doing 2 miles in 19 minutes. So that was 7 miles in 3 days no worse for wear. 1 interesting thing was that Sunday after my run I took some Ibuprofen, and after that the knee pain went away entirely and has not returned, even after my run this morning.

I did 1 thing differently, and will continue to do this: when my training plan calls for a 30 minute run I will do that only, then walk home. I need to be patient while my legs rebuild their strength. And I need to remember an axiom I saw that said something along the lines of leave something out there when training, only push to the max when racing. Also, make a point of walking around barefoot when I get home from a run if possible, just to give my feet a chance to recover some.

Also, the month of birthdays has effectively come to an end, so all of the parties, eating out, left over cake, ice cream & candy etc. can be purged from the house. I can return to the better eating habits and healthier life style that I had. Because I had let myself go, really it started before I ran the half, because I was running so much that I could get away with eating poorly. But that habit carried over when my running eased off and stopped so I have put on some pounds. So, not only will I be getting back into the running we will also be getting back into healthier eating habits at home.