new kicks!

Yesterday, I took a ride over to my local running store.  They are super nice and helpful.  I got myself fitted for a new pair of sneakers.  After trying several pairs on, the Saucony's were the winners by far:

I also joined their running club which meets on Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings.  They have some really seasoned members on the team and I'm hoping they can help me train properly for the Surftown Half.

Naturally, when I got home I wanted to take these pretty little things for a spin!  It was HOT and HUMID and since I had been running errands all day, I really didn't drink enough water.  Around mile 2, I got really bad side cramps and had to walk the rest of the way.  I'm just happy that I got some movement in.  When I got home, I immediately jumped in the pool- in my running clothes. :)

This morning, training officially began for the Surftown Half.  My alarm went off at 5 am and surprisingly, I wasn't too tired!  I got up, got dressed, chugged some water and off I went.  My hip felt really tight and sore so I started off walking.  I'm really worried about injury so I figured if I had to start by just walking for a bit to loosen things up, I"m okay with that.  It's early enough in my training that I can build up, but if I had to take time off to nurse an injury, I'm not sure I could come back in time.  Unfortunately, my hip never felt right this morning so I ended up walking the whole time.  It was a bit of a bummer but I know that I made the right decision.

Tomorrow is supposed to be a cross training day but since I walked today, I'm going to try and run tomorrow.

from the beginning...

I've always loved running.

In my early twenties, I was running daily.  Life got busy or I stopped making the time and I stopped running completely.  I've ALWAYS wanted to start running again but I could never seem to make the time.

Clarification: I was never a runner.  I ran to have fun and get some exercise.  I was not like those elite people that ran 20 miles every Saturday.  I had no plans, no running goals.  I just laced up my New Balance's and off I went.

Last summer, I started to make some time for running.  Not a lot, but some.  I even ran two 5k's.  I have zero idea what my time was because, again, it was just for fun.

Recently, I've been really itching to run more and be a little more serious about it.  This blog will hopefully keep track of my progress as I set out on this journey.

Yesterday, I registered for the Surftown Half Marathon which will take place on September 13, 2015.  The second that I hit the "Register Now" button, I immediately thought, "Holy crap! What did I just do?"  I'm still sort of feeling like that but also.... a little bit excited. :)

I immediately reached out to some runner friends on Facebook and asked for any advice they had.  I don't know the first thing about nutrition for runners or creating training schedules.  Many of them recommended Hal Higdon's Training Method.  I do have his book and I'm reading it now.  I'm considering getting a running coach for this race.  It's a big deal (to me) and I don't want to risk injury.

That's a bit of where I've been and where I hope to go :)