Pain in the Knee!

I am a little disappointed. I wore my new Brooks for my 6 miler on Sunday and my left knee was pretty twingey for the next couple of days. I had worn these before for a couple of 3-4 mile runs and a 5 and didn't experience too much discomfort but  the pain was definitely there this time. I am going to give them one more chance on a long run. If I get more pain I'm taking those suckers back and getting these. 

 

New Balance Minumus Zero

These are probably my last hope "shoe" wise. They are the closest thing to my Vibram FF I've found that are real shoes.

I really hope the Brooks work out though....Guess I'll see what this weekend brings.

My First Race

I ran my first race last weekend at the Wounded Warrior Run in downtown Kennesaw. I know, I know....it was only a measly 5k but it was an experience for me! I had never run an "organized" race (well not since CC in high school) and it was overwhelming! I am so glad I did it though. It really gave me an idea of what to expect when it comes to races. Now I did kind of go into the race with the mindset of trying to run a bit faster than I normally do on just a regular run but I didn't want to push myself too much by setting any personal goals or times to go by. Getting a "race" feel was good enough for me.

Andrea, Whitney, and I - Fresh & Shiny before our run.

I met up with my friends Andrea (whom I would consider a seasoned runner) and Whitney (another baby runner like me). I have run several times with Andrea and I really enjoy running with her because it seems like our pace is about the same and we can carry somewhat of a decent conversation while running and not wear ourselves out. She was going for a PR of under 8 per mile...I told her she on her own on that one. She cooked it too and came third in our group (GO ANDREA)! Can I just say: I am so very happy to have found friends that enjoy running like I do! It makes me extremely happy to have finally found people that "get it." Anyway back to the race, there were SO many people there. I heard somewhere they were expecting around 800 and close to 2,000 showed up. They were super under-prepared and it showed in the fact that the race took 30 minutes extra to even start. It was a mess.

After all the milling around and waiting for the registration to end, it was finally time! The cannon shot off (it is Kennesaw after all) and it was go! I am not going to lie... I had a minor panic attack at the beginning of the race. There were a lot of people in a small space (they funneled us onto half the road to hit the mat) and I didn't know what to expect. My breathing was really off and I couldn't catch my breath. I think it honestly messed up my whole run somewhat. For the rest of the time I was struggling to breathe (a combination of my runner's asthma, panic, and of course running harder than normal) and I had no idea where the course was. Is it stupid that I really like running in places I know cause I can set my pace based on where I am and how far I have to go? I'm weird. I know. Anyway, I pretty much suffered through the entire thing. The whole time I just kept thinking to myself "I don't like this. I don't like this. No...I don't" and wondering when it would be over. When I finally saw the finish line I was so pumped I just picked it up! I had survived my first race. And my time ended up being 26:14, which put me fourth in my group. Not too shabby for a first race!

Dre and I after - YIKES!

Once I got away from the race and got home I found myself thinking back over the morning and how much I didn't like the race...and yet liked it. I keep thinking about what I would have done different and how I can improve. I'm not going to lie...it's addicting. There are so many races in different places that I want to do. Racing seems like a really great hobby/activity to have and plan trips and travel around. Good excuse to go to new places! I still haven't decided if I want to run just to run or actually set goals based on PRs and such. I am not good with stress and I am afraid that by setting goals I will not allow myself to just enjoy the experience of running. I am also afraid of failure and I think by not setting myself up for anything I can avoid it...it's a cop out I know. Joey just likes to say I am the least competitive person he knows. I can deal with that.

So I have basically decided to start this blog to keep track of my own thoughts on my progress towards training for my first half marathon. Is it weird that I am not nervous at all about the training (distances, etc.) but more about the commitment of actually having a race to run? I have trained before for distances without giving myself a goal (just to achieve it to know I could). This time I will have an actual goal at a race. It really freaks me out.

To help myself get motivated I have ordered a new pair of running shoes. They’re the Brooks Pure Flow.

I am super nervous about running in “real” shoes again though. My knee feels pain just thinking about it. The fiver fingers have worked so well for me thus far. Why fix something if it isn’t broken? Well… I kind of want a bit more support for my distance runs and I am hoping these are the ticket. We will see. At least they’re neat looking!

I am also considering really altering my diet to more plant-based proteins and whole grains as opposed to the junk I eat. All the time. This will be hard to do as well..since I tend to run so I can eat what I want! We will have to see how this pans out. I am not going to be ultra-religious about it but I would like to give a try. See if it makes a difference in how I feel while training. Don’t blame me if I can’t stick to it though. Blame it on refined sugar. And Joey (I blame him for everything anyway)!