Just for the hell of it.

Because I'm having somewhat of a crap day, and am desperately searching for ways to tune out until 4:30...

I completely forgot to blog about my new running shoes that I got a couple weeks ago.

These pretty little babies... Introducing the Pearl izumi Syncropace III's.

Let me start off with saying... if you don't have comfortable running shoes and you're running... INVEST IN NEW SHOES. Really. Just do it. I went to a running shoe store, they performed a (free) computerized foot analysis which showed that I slightly over pronate and should get a stability shoe (be sure to go to a place who does this! it's very cool and informative). So I tried on about a million pairs of different stability shoes, tested them out on the treadmill and everything, and went home with a pair that I thought were the answer to my prayers. I took them out for a spin that night, and the next morning I could barely walk my legs and hips hurt so bad. Literally. COULD BARELY WALK. Those suckers jacked me up in a way that I didn't even know was possible. Turns out they had a little too much stability for me, and were making my over pronating feet become under pronating feet. Luckily my shoe store of choice has a 15 day return policy so I went back and tried on a million MORE pairs, and came home with these lime green hot mommas.

OK so maybe HOT MOMMAS isn't exactly the right word here but hey, they are 360 degree reflective, so chances are I will never get run over by a car while jogging. They are by far the most expensive yet least attractive shoe I have ever bought in my life (they are a much brighter green than they look in the picture). But incredibly awesome and worth every penny considering that I have not had ONE SECOND of shin pain/ knee pain since wearing these! I almost can't even believe it. Even the smallest jogs in my old shoes (seriously small, like 15 seconds of jogging) would result in shin pain for the rest of the day on my right leg. I was wrapping it in ace bandages, resting, icing... and the next time I would go out BAM. Shin pain once again. But now I can run 9 whole minutes (hello, can you tell I'm proud?!) in a row without stopping, and still no shin pain!!

I've really been loving the whole jogging thing lately. I've sort of ditched the couch to 5k program, and taken off on my own program. I feel like it got me started really well and now I just want to do my own thing. An evening at the track goes like this - 1 lap warm up walk, 3 laps jogging (9 minutes), 1 lap walk, 3 laps jogging (another 9 minutes), 1 lap walk, and 3 MORE laps jogging, followed by a cool down for however long I feel like walking, typically 2 or 3 more laps. Not bad for a girl who could barely jog 60 seconds a couple months ago. I've done this about 4 or 5 times, and I think next week I will move those 3 laps up to 4 laps!! Which means I will officially be jogging ONE MILE WITHOUT STOPPING. I never thought I'd see the day, but I know I'll be able to do it. I'm already so close at 3 laps! Jogging is not easy for me. I've sort of come to the conclusion that it will never be easy for me. But the thing that keeps me going is the way I feel AFTER a jog. Wow. It's unlike anything I've ever felt. I get such a feeling of accomplishment, knowing that I'm really pushing myself and knowing that each time I go out, I'm getting just a little bit closer to accomplishing my goal of running a 5k and it's just an all around awesome feeling. I love it so much and am so glad that I took that first scary as can be step towards becoming a jogger.

And now I will wrap it up, but I am curious... who is out there?? I mean YOU. Reading this. I've noticed that we have some recurring readers (though there are few, I know you are out there!) and I just want to know who you are! Leave a comment or something so we can come check out your blog(s) too!