Thankful Thursday #5

1. I am thankful for new running shoes. After having some major issues while training for the LA Marathon last year I decided it was pretty stupid of me to be so stubborn. I took my sisters advice and went to a running store to be professionally fitted. Prior to this I was wearing shoes from department stores and went by how they felt. That worked well until if didn't and that last pair of running shoes was almost my last. My generous parents bought me my first pair and I have refused to try anything since. Thankfully Amazon recently had an amazing sale and I stocked up on a few pairs to last me awhile. And, right after the race on Saturday I knew it was time for a shiny new pair to be broken in. My feet feel fantastic and it's like running on clouds.

2. I am thankful for detailed and color coordinated chore charts. And of course for a husband who is patient and understanding when it comes to my OCD. The apartment has stayed clean and on day two of our calendar I had to ask what I am supposed to do during the 20 minute pickup if I only have 5 minutes worth of stuff to do.. I can see this working for us!

3. I am grateful to my best friend for being willing to jump back into a workout routine to help hold me accountable. I know that it is so much easier for me to stay accountable when I have someone doing it with me. We've seen success together a few times before, I know that if we stick with it this time we will see success again.

4. I am thankful for my parents, who let me run after work. It is easier for me to run immediately after work because it doesn't give me the opportunity to sit down. Knowing myself I know that I won't get back up, so going for a 1-3 mile run around their neighborhood is so incredibly helpful, especially since I can keep going if the run feels good or stop if I'm just having a bad run day.

5. I am thankful for tomorrow. Both the fact that it's Friday and because it's weigh in. I'm excited to have a fresh week. I didn't do bad this week food-wise but could have done better fitness-wise. I have yet to take my progress picture for the month for fear of seeing the changes, but will be taking them tonight to post tomorrow. I've been peaking at the scale all week and today was my highest day and I'm still less than last week, so here's hoping there's a loss tomorrow!

Starting While She's Young

I have never pushed running on Isabel. I didn't necessarily want my hobbies to be her hobbies unless she showed an interest.

I've been running consistently for three years. She's been at home waiting for me when I get home from a training run. She's been at the finish line for countless races of all distances. Recently she's been asking to run with me, so when I get finished with the distance I come back around and pick her up for a short run (usually no longer than 1 mile).

About a month ago, the signs started going up for our neighborhood's Turkey Day Dash. I participated in the race two years ago when it was at a different location and it was a pretty decent race.

I hadn't planned on running it this year until my mom called me one day at work and told me that Isabel had told her that she wants to do the 1K kids fun run. I would be lying if I told you that I wasn't excited. I've really been looking forward to this and hoping that it would happen at some point.

I've really enjoyed that running started (and continues) with my sister and I. My niece has been participating in 5Ks and will be doing the Turkey Day Dash 5K with me this year (her third race). And now Isabel will be running in her first race with me on Thanksgiving.

I decided I wanted to do something special. I don't know if she will enjoy it or not, but I can only hope that running is something that she and I can share, so I decided to get a gift for her.



 

Her first pair of running shoes.

 

They were a surprise and she absolutely loved them. We don't have long to break them in, since the race is next week, but they will hopefully last a little while and I hope that she continues to have the desire to do this together. 

Running Accessories

I have an extremely difficult time purchasing things for myself. Especially expensive things. Go figure I would pick a sport that requires spending.

Races are one thing, because I am paying for the experience. I can justify that (even though I've had to explain many times the point of "paying to run").

Anything else beyond that I felt as though it wasn't worth the money/I didn't need it/I could just do this without all the expensive gadgets. Plus, I wasn't really planning on doing this longer than the first marathon. 

Then I got into it. I bought my first gadget, an interval timer that you can set up with your specific intervals and it will beep when it's time to walk and when it's time to run. Perfection! I no longer had to clock watch, which tends to make the time go by slower. 

Not long after that, my sister bought herself a GPS watch. It wasn't the first time I had seen one, but it was the first time I had seen one up close. I wanted one.. Badly. But I waited because I couldn't justify such an expensive item for myself. I finally decided to buy it for myself as a Christmas present knowing that I would wear it all the time and that I would get my money's worth of use out of it. 

Perhaps the stupidest thing to wait to buy was properly fitted shoes. I had lucked out for the most part by buying my shoes at Kohl's. I would try them on, walk around a little and I could usually tell right away if they would work or not. I saved money and it worked out pretty well, up until it didn't.

I almost quit the LA Marathon (and running in general) this past March when I was experiencing extreme pain in my feet and shins. I was urged to go to a running store to be properly fitted and was offered a new pair of shoes from my parents. Best decision ever! 

My GPS watch stopped working at the end of August. I was devastated. It felt as though I had lost a close friend. I was upset that I no longer had that particular GPS watch (which had been discontinued), but that I would need to spend money on a new one. Thankfully I didn't spend the same length of time debating as to whether or not I was going to buy a new one. I only needed to pick one and purchase it. I am actually using (and loving) the online features. I plug the watch into the computer every so often and am able to look at a lot of data, including a map with the course, elevation, weather and of course speed/distance, etc.

My first GPS watch.

My current GPS watch.

A couple of nights ago, as I was walking to the apartment from my car, my interval timer fell from my purse to the ground. It's been dropped many times and I have often thought of replacing it as it will often times stop showing the display. It still worked though, so spending $20 didn't seem worth it. Unfortunately, this last drop did it in and it no longer works.

I was devastated. It seems so silly to get attached to these things, but when they've been with you for over 1500 miles you get used to them. They become your running buddy and they help push you through difficult times. (Yes, I know I sound crazy).

It was time to order a new interval timer. I'm excited for the colors of this new timer and am expecting it to come in the mail early next week. Until then I am relying on other people and their timers when I run with them. Otherwise, I am just counting steps and although it gets repetitive it is what needs to be done in order to continue my streak.

The last thing I needed to replace were my running shoes. I calculated my mileage from my running log and realized that the pain in my foot (that I self diagnosed as bone spurs, tendinitis and a stress fracture) ended up being that I'm using shoes that have gone well over 500 miles. Although I had replaced the insoles and was trying to make them last just a little longer, I knew that the time was coming.

I am so grateful that I have a friend who 1. enjoys running and 2. knows how much I love running. She was kind enough to tell me of the Amazon deal of the day on Monday. It was 45% off on New Balance athletic shoes. The exact brand that I use. I called Patrick to ask if I could buy a pair. He kindly said yes, of course and I purchased a pair. I then realized that I had mentioned to my mom about needing new running shoes. She had offered to buy them for either Christmas or my birthday. I called her and told her about the deal and she bought me a pair too for when the ones I bought need to be retired.

They arrived yesterday and I guess I didn't quite realize how badly I needed new shoes until I saw the bottoms of both the old pair and the new pair side by side.

Now I just need to break them in. I plan on running today and tomorrow my normal 2 miles and then Saturday is a 14 mile training run. I might try to run again either tonight or tomorrow so that they can be a little more broken in before such a long training run, but I'm not sure if that will be able to happen or not. I'm not too concerned, since I had to break in my first pair pretty quickly before the LA Marathon, but I want to be as prepared as I possibly can be.

I know feel accessorized and ready to begin my Santa to Santa goal next month. I have everything I need: shoes, GPS watch, interval timer and most importantly the desire to do it.