New Shoes!!

So I went to a running store to get a new pair of shoes that would hopefully solve my problem with my falling-off toenails and the bleeding when I run over eight or nine miles. I'm so self-conscious around real runners, so I took my little boy with me as a buffer. (I figured they wouldn't make too much fun of me in front of a child.) When I walk in, of course it is this barely twenty year old guy in perfect shape. Now, when I tell most people that my toenails are falling off, they shrink away in disgust and say things like "That is sooo gross". Really? What am I supposed to say to that? "Actully, my husband thinks it's sexy"? Anyway, when I tell this uber-runner what is happening, he isn't even the least bit phased by this. "Yeah, your shoes are too small, and I can see you have flat feet." He looks at my feet for a few minutes and walks over to a wall of shoeboxes the size of a movie screen and picks a box, seemingly at random. "These will take care of you." Now, how did he know that? I mean, there are thousands of shoes on this wall. And this pair is THE pair? I try to be nonchalant, "Great, they feel great, ummmm thanks!" and pay for the shoes with the underlying certainty that I have been ripped off. I get home, get online and research the shoes. What do you know? "Perfect for the distance runner with flat, low arches who needs a roomy toe bed". And damn if they don't feel great when I take them out for a test run. Maybe my toenails will have grown back by next summer. Until then, I just keep polish on the skin, you can't even tell! Ha ha!

Where I'm At

I started running in April, only because my husband decided to run a 5K, something that I have always wanted to do. Also, the mid-thirties-and-I've-had-two-kids body was starting to settle down with me and make itself at home. I never expected to enjoy it at all, more like expected it to be like cleaning the house, you do it because you have to, because you feel guily if you don't. But running over the past six months has become my escape plan, my way to get out somewhere where no one needs me, or even if they do, they can't find me. It is so freeing to just....run! I love the feeling when I first set out, I always feel like I can go forever. I love the feeling of accomplishment when I'm done. But most of all, I love that I can DO this! I worked my way up mile by mile, until I was able to run a half marathon two weeks ago. In the meantime, I have had and gotten rid of shin splints, had two of my toenails fall off, been given a heart attack three times by random dogs, and run 5 miles with a bloody foot and not noticed. I have lost 18 pounds to date and now can run up two flights of stairs without getting out of breath (at all!!!). My goal is to keep going, and run a whole marathon by this time next year. I know that to keep going, I need to have a way to be accountable to myself, so this is it! I should add that I know very little about how to run correctly, what kind of gear to wear (I ran for the past six months in running shoes a size too small, hence my freakish lack of toenails and bloody foot.), so this should be interesting. I have a lot to learn, but that's the best - learning something new! And fun.