Coming out of the holidays coma.

Yesterday was the first run in 7 days. With the bulging disc, the itb and the Christmas season it was easy to skip a run, then another etc. Probably was good for my nagging injuries but the mind, the patience, & the energy was starting to deteriorate.

Hard to stare at this mug with the morning Joe and not get out there and run! A wonderful Christmas gift from a great friend!

Add caption

I told myself I would take it easy after the marathon but then I thought that was a crappy idea. Why work so hard to get to that level and then purposely lose it.

Stretch complete with Corgi coach and little stretch buddy!

I'm not physically healthy enough to run the long runs but there is no good reason I can think of to quit altogether...so I ran a quick 5k yesterday 25:14 (quick for me) after a weight session of chest and tricept.  And today seemed like a good day to keep the momentum going.

The result was a 6 mile run in the 8:40's with little pain! Shoulders and Bicepts in the weight room.

Don't know if I should go back to the every other day longer runs or the 5/6 days of smaller runs?

These are a few of my favorite things!

Sometimes I get excited to go on a run just to use one of my gadgets...is that weird? When I began running I thought there was a beauty in the simplicity of it. Just get your shoes and get out there and run. While I still do believe there is a simplicity to it...I'd be fibbing if I said it was like that for me really.

First thing was finding the right shoes....the journey that never ends! I rotate through 4, yes 4, pair of Asics gel 1160. And yes it has been a journey...and the reason why I have 4 of the same shoe (in different colors of course) is because I have spent money, large money, on shoes that didn't work and thus have adopted a "if it ain't broke" attitude toward my running shoes. I have been to three running stores for assessment, performed the running world water pan trick and spent countless hours filling in feet surveys. This year Asics changed the shoe in a way that my feet didn't like...every year these manufacturers try to improve upon each shoe and tweak it just a bit....so now I'm back on the market...stay tuned for exhaustive shoe review!

(And yes my dog has been taste-testing them also)

Can Not live without my Garmin GPS watch! They make them in all several styles to match the needs of the runner or swimmer/triathlete. I use the Forerunner 205. Its an older version and I bought it on Amazon. Not only does it give me all the stats of pace and distance but a good reason why it is one of my necessary running tools is that it is a great motivator! It doesn't yell in a commando voice but it stores data allowing me to see improvement and encouraging me to work just a little bit harder to beat weekly, monthly totals or times! Some of the other awesome handy features...once I got lost on a trail run so I hit up the "back to start" feature and it told me when to turn to get back to start uh WOW! Before Garmin I tracked the distance by car for a few routes through my neighborhood and ran those routes over and over....very boring! 9 times outta 10 you will run less/slower without knowing your pace and distance...not to mention accountability! When its staring you in the face, a 7 mile run is not a 6.35 ok I feel tired run! Oh and I should mention that I have received wonderful customer service from them...kinda wish they sold dryers! My first watch was having issues charging so I called the company and after having a very patient person walk me through some possible fixes that didn't ultimately work, they sent me a new one! Holla!!!! That was over two years ago and my replacement still going strong!

(4 hrs 25mins...Evidence of having run the Marathon!)

New favorite running gadget...Auria Headphones!!! I am a kitchen sink kind of runner as I mentioned or you may have figured out. I run with tons of crap, fuel, water, band aids, some cash for a phone call(even though I'd be hard pressed to find a pay phone), chapstick, iPhone (kind of makes the cash superfluous..and yes I use that word almost every day), tissues, etc I know its a little obsessive...but mostly I need my Iphone! Music is my background to the imagery I look at while running. I sing almost the whole time! When Jay-Z and Rhianna belt out something about running this town...I'm like... no actually I'm running this town!!!! And when I'm doing sprints I put on the fast RPM playlist, and when I'm out for a long run I put on Pandora radio and float on with whatever Steve Miller Band and Lynard Skynard are playing...so I've been through my fair share of headphones....in fact very recently I lost a pair to a car bumper that ate them when I ran too close! I've dealt with every issue and a few really weird ones too (like the aforementioned bumper incident...btw if anyone got video of that it would make great TV)! Well hello my sexy Auria headphones!
1. No slippage and perfect fit that is like they aren't even there! 2. Allow for ambient noise to enter but not to overwhelm...running on well travelled roads it is super important to be able to hear a car approaching from behind or a bike rider or even someone who might want to give you their number! 3. Come in hot pink/black....no need to say more 4. Come with a clip to clip to your running clothing...no more bumper disasters. 5. Special slider that allows you to advance or repeat songs with a touch or activate voice control on iPhones!!!! No more having to take the phone out of its cozy home to switch songs or answer the phone...which gotta be 6. you do not need to stop to answer the phone...microphone in the wire allows you to answer, talk and end a call without touching your phone once!!! You can also text with Siri!...Yes I do talk and text while running...doesn't everybody! 7. Volume control slider makes music very loud and clear when you want to turn up the Rocky song...

And I'm sure they have more things that are great but I have a sudden urge to run and use them....

Question #7 Running...cost/benefit analysis?

Since this is my third fiscal running year, I struck me when my husband said I spent enough on races this year (I tried to add a last minute half...they were giving medals to all finishers....I'm a sucker for a medal).  So when I sat down and thought about it I certainly did spend quite a lot of money on races this year...not to mention all the cool swag they have at the conventions. 
When I entered into this running journey I had no idea that it would be costly.  I thought that running had a lovely simplicity...all I needed was a pair of sneakers and I was out the door!  Some novice I turned out to be.  Turns out you need 4 pairs of sneakers, nice ones...and they need to be replaced fairly often.  Not to mention a GPS running watch, special socks, shorts, winter, summer, belts, packs, fuels, bands, engineered fluids, anti chaffing magic, several boxes of band-aids, chiropractors, a load of Aleve and also some of the good shit(prescription NSAIDs baby), several apps, a gym membership to help with too much running...I know I've left out a good many things too.
So then its race time!  Right now my mania builds from like Volkswagen Bus into a Ferrari.  Season starts out with the confidence booster 5ks and 5 milers...builds to halfs and mud runs... 18 miler end of Sept. and the long races in Nov.  Race fees and hotels oh my! 

I have spent a good deal...but I'd have to say it's money well spent.  All those races are future goals.  Goals that are accomplished, fairly often but not without their pain.  Missing one would be poison to the others. Some are for training, all are for PR, and every one I've managed to finish has been a personal victory!

Well what it comes down to is that without the races there isn't that amazing sense of accomplishment.  I could just run around my neighborhood with some old sneakers I guess, but living is in the details. I guess details are gonna cost ya.

 Its also a great way to include my kids. Its like a mommy scavenger hunt :)