Marathon Training

I got into the St. George Marathon in October via the lottery, mostly because two of my siblings are doing it with their spouses and you could put in five people on the lottery team. Not to be out done by my siblings I jumped on board. I did a half marathon 4.5 years ago. My longest run since then was last week, 8 miles. Um, yeah, I have a long way to go! But I have finally gotten to the place when running is not stressful. I mean I look forward to my "long" runs these days. It has taken several months to get there. Maybe the runner's high is not far off...

I am not a fast runner. I use to be pretty speedy in my younger days if I was chasing a soccer ball but as far as a distance running I am pretty average. Though I will probably never win a race I still call myself a runner. I believe anyone that runs is a "runner." I don't care if my toddler can run faster and longer than you, if you get off the couch and do what you consider running, you are a runner. Go ahead and call yourself that. It bothers me that people are hesitant to call themselves runners if they are slow or aren't putting in a lot of miles. Give yourself some respect for getting out and moving. Okay I am off my soap box...

Right now I have some pretty awesome running shoes. Over the years I have tried Adidas, Nike, and Asics. I thought I was sold on Asics. However, recently I jumped on the bandwagon of minimalist running, changed my running style, and am loving my new shoes. I alternate between Vibram Five Fingers and my Saucony Kinvaras.


I only got the Kinvaras because I got a really good deal on them, I wasn't sure I would love them as much as my Asics, but I needed something in between the Vibrams and my Asics because physically I am still struggling with the minimalistness (is that a word?) of the Vibrams when I am running longer than 5 miles.

I LOVE the Kinvaras. They are very light and have just enough cushion that if I get too tired on my long runs to stay on the balls of my feet I am not worried about stress fractures. I think they are a big reason I am liking running more lately. That and the fact that I started my run this morning in 55 degrees!! If only summer would stay that temperature!



And since I am already posting crappy photos of my feet I will show you the sweet socks my boss gave me recently as an end of the school year gift. Two of his research assistants got these socks and the other got socks that said "I am awesome." How fun are these! On the bottom it says "great mom" and across the ankle you can't really see but it says "notes to self." My supervisor is very big into positive behavioral support so he was super excited when he found this company, Notes To Self. Go check it out. I think it is a fun idea to support. 

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