Oh, My Soles Sing

Yep. Got me some new shoes. I took them for a 2 mile test run last night.

I could still feel my toes after I finished the run. What a difference a pair of shoes make! The rest of my body was screaming in agony and I think my right lung collapsed a little bit but my feet...my feet were rockin' the house...or the sidewalk, whatever. Running in warmer weather was a bit challenging and I felt like I had been dipped in vegetable oil by the time I was done. It was enough to make me want to crawl out of my skin. Ick.

In all seriousness, good running shoes that are properly sized should be the first investment for anyone who decides to start running. I cannot believe the difference in the way my body feels. It's not just my disgustingly wide, flat feet that felt the improvement but my back and knees and even my shins felt better than they have in previous runs. I really wish I hadn't waited for so long to get them. It's my fear of committment...wait...no...it was my lack of money.

My fearless friend, Alicia, just might be investing in a pair of tiny running shoes to match her tiny, sprightly body this weekend. That means I'm going to the running store. Again. Oh, the socks and the water bottles. I'm losing my mind slowly, people.

Now I suppose I have no excuse but to add distance to my run. I still have to be able to run a little more than another mile on top of the 2 that I can currently/barely run. I think I'm going to let my body get used to the idea of 2 miles though for the time being. I'm also going to add some weight training on the days I don't run. I really want to tighten up the jiggly mess that is my abdomen because it's just downright depressing. I can't blame it on my baby anymore-she's going to be 6 in June! In the meantime...you may call me: Jigglypuff.

A Friend Indeed

I have been blessed by having some wonderful friends over the course of my life. I've had very few that I can say were my "best" friends though. Alicia lives next door to me with her husband and 2 children. Her son was born just days after my daughter was. Alicia and I have a lot in common. When I told her that I was going to start training for a 5K she said, "I'll run with you." Now, if you know Alicia you know she doesn't exercise-she doesn't NEED to because she is about 5'3" and 110 pounds soaking wet. I swear she is more of a sprite than a person she is so darn cute. I have tried on numerous occasions to get Alicia to join me while exercising and I have been shut down nicely, if you call laughing hysterically in my face "nice", everytime. So when I got the text that said, "I'll run with you", I almost fell over I was so touched. That night I got home from work, strapped on my running shoes, grabbed my stopwatch and headed next door to get my new running partner. After we finished our run, which included less wheezing than I expected from both of us, I realized that I actually had a good time running because Alicia was there. Ok, let me say that again...I had a good time running. I wasn't on a runner's high because we didn't run far enough for that to kick in but I still actually enjoyed myself. I didn't even feel like one of those dancing hippos from Fantasia while running next to my spritely friend. Shocking. I've found my secret weapon against the pain inducing running gods for now.