Becoming a Better Sarah ~ 2015 Journal (The End)

It was fun following along. I know I'll be watching for you in other parts of the boards especially currently in your trip report.
 
When something you once looked forward to becomes a chore, it is definitely time to stop. I have enjoyed your entries!
 
I'm so glad you made the right choice for you here! I'll be stalking you around the board haha
 
Hey guys! I'm back ... kinda. I promised longer race recaps from my TR ... so here they are. And by "they" I mean the expo and 5K. I was going to wait until I finished the 10K recap, but that might not be for a while and I figured I'd probably forget. So I might as well post what I've already done.

So here are the links to the relevant parts of my TR:
Expo
5K Race

If I remember, I'll be back eventually with a link to the 10K recap. I make no promises, though.
 


Hey guys! It's me again!

So ... it’s finally here: the 10K Recap!
If you’re interested, my sister wrote her own 10K Recap, which is in the post right below mine.

While I have your attention, here are a few other things going on with me:
1 – Remember last summer when I was agonizing over getting new shoes? Well, those shoes are close to retirement. They are now for “shorter” runs only … anything over 6 miles they hurt too much (and I think they’re starting to hurt on the shorter runs too … I may be retiring them before the end of the month). It’s crazy to think that I’ve had them long enough to retire them. (Also, when/how did 6 miles become a “shorter” run?)
2 – At the beginning of the year, I had some pretty grand ambitions to make 2016 the “Year of Sarah,” which included a race every other month. Well … that didn’t happen. January and February were pretty rough months for me, and I’m still bouncing back (and not very well). I’m starting to think about doing a race in May, but … still not sure that’s going to happen.
3 – I’m working on figuring out my first half marathon. The original idea was Disneyland Half, but that got nixed a few months ago because of cost issues. I’m also looking at Avengers (I actually kinda really love that idea, since I’m starting to get into Marvel/MCU, and I already know who my costume inspiration would be), but that may also be cost prohibitive. Also … my sister has class until late in the day on Thursdays, so for those two, we couldn’t do the 5K and would be on a really tight schedule on Friday. Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia is my best cost & scheduling option, but … as you guys probably know by now, I like to create drama when there is no reason for drama to exist, so nothing is that simple with me. I’m not excited about it, and I’m not sure that I want my first half marathon to be something that I’m not excited about. So there’s that.
4 – There is so much going on in my head right now. I wish I could share it with you guys, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the past few months, it’s that I’m not good at expressing myself in a way that gets my thoughts across without any unintentional negative connotation. Lately much of what I’ve said has sounded, whiny, witchy, mean, angry, etc … without my intending it to be. I’m definitely in a weird place right now, and it’s hard to not be able to articulate it any way that makes sense.

Anyway ... that's me. I think that's all you'll hear from me on here ... but I promise, I'm probably still alive and running! Emphasis on the probably :)
 
Hey guys! It's me again!

So ... it’s finally here: the 10K Recap!
If you’re interested, my sister wrote her own 10K Recap, which is in the post right below mine.

While I have your attention, here are a few other things going on with me:
1 – Remember last summer when I was agonizing over getting new shoes? Well, those shoes are close to retirement. They are now for “shorter” runs only … anything over 6 miles they hurt too much (and I think they’re starting to hurt on the shorter runs too … I may be retiring them before the end of the month). It’s crazy to think that I’ve had them long enough to retire them. (Also, when/how did 6 miles become a “shorter” run?)
2 – At the beginning of the year, I had some pretty grand ambitions to make 2016 the “Year of Sarah,” which included a race every other month. Well … that didn’t happen. January and February were pretty rough months for me, and I’m still bouncing back (and not very well). I’m starting to think about doing a race in May, but … still not sure that’s going to happen.
3 – I’m working on figuring out my first half marathon. The original idea was Disneyland Half, but that got nixed a few months ago because of cost issues. I’m also looking at Avengers (I actually kinda really love that idea, since I’m starting to get into Marvel/MCU, and I already know who my costume inspiration would be), but that may also be cost prohibitive. Also … my sister has class until late in the day on Thursdays, so for those two, we couldn’t do the 5K and would be on a really tight schedule on Friday. Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia is my best cost & scheduling option, but … as you guys probably know by now, I like to create drama when there is no reason for drama to exist, so nothing is that simple with me. I’m not excited about it, and I’m not sure that I want my first half marathon to be something that I’m not excited about. So there’s that.
4 – There is so much going on in my head right now. I wish I could share it with you guys, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the past few months, it’s that I’m not good at expressing myself in a way that gets my thoughts across without any unintentional negative connotation. Lately much of what I’ve said has sounded, whiny, witchy, mean, angry, etc … without my intending it to be. I’m definitely in a weird place right now, and it’s hard to not be able to articulate it any way that makes sense.

Anyway ... that's me. I think that's all you'll hear from me on here ... but I promise, I'm probably still alive and running! Emphasis on the probably :)
1. Looking for new shoes is always fun! I haven't retired a pair of shoes yet but I might have to sooner or later.

2. We get it things happen it happens to everyone. Hopefully you find something soon.

3. Avengers would be cool if you could make it work. Rock n Roll Philadelphia seems like a cool idea too. My first half was in January obviously but no matter where you do that first half you'll always remember it.

4. Understandable. Everyone has those times in their lives. My life has been crazy lately as well too between my grandma being in and out of the hospital, work, school, college decisions and who knows what else. I hope you get it figured out for the better.
 
Hey I found you! I will be reading your 10k recap to give myself a brain break later today and just wanted to let you know you've always been super encouraging (never negative) with me and I appreciate that! If you still ever want to drop by and yell at me to run, I don't mind that at all :)
 


Shoes Revisited (Yet Again)
Back in the day when this was an active journal-like place, one of the major topics of conversation was shoes. Since yesterday was the start of another chapter of my shoe journey, I figured I'd come back here and share what's going on.
As you may remember, when I went to get fitted for shoes last July, I was given the Saucony Guide 8 (a stability shoe), and I struggled with it at first. Eventually I got used to it, but I never truly loved it. I'm at about 300 miles on my second pair of Guides (the first pair made it to 399 miles), so I figured it was time to start rotating in another pair of shoes. So I decided to go back and get fitted. I'm not going to go through the whole process again, but I do want to share a few notes:

  • This time I knew what to expect going in, and I went in with more knowledge. I knew I didn't want to just blindly trust what I was told. I wanted to find the shoes that felt right to me, not the shoes that I was told would be best. I also knew that I'm most comfortable in Asics, and I wouldn't be happy if I didn't at least consider a pair of Asics (I tried two pairs, and I'm glad that I did).
  • The salesperson looked at my gait in lightweight shoes and said that while I do pronate a bit, I definitely don't need stability shoes. That was a little bit of a shocker. But I am wondering if my gait has changed because of the knee issues and because I focus more on stretching now, so my knees are less stiff.
  • There was a pair of shoes that felt perfect when I ran in them. I knew that I still had to try the other shoes, but these were a strong contender. In the end, when it was down to two pairs of shoes ... these were one of the two. That was the feeling I was looking for last time.
  • I think I did a good job balancing what I wanted and trusting the "expert." Of the final two pairs of shoes, I chose the ones I liked better. But I also didn't fight the salesperson when she suggested I get insoles, even though I didn't want the expense, because I trusted her knowledge and I trusted what she was showing me on the iPad.
So ... what shoes did I end up with?
Kicks.jpg
That's the New Balance 880v6 in Grey with Light Blue & Guava.

I took them for their first run this morning. 3.61 miles in 45 minutes. Definitely good. They didn't feel as perfect as they did when I tried them on the treadmill, but that's to be expected. I had a little pain in one of my feet at the end, so I'm wondering if I should have started them on a shorter run, but it wasn't too bad. No knee or leg pain ... and I woke up with leg pain. So that's a pretty big deal.

The insole I got is a Superfeet insole ... that's going to take a little getting used to, but it was okay. Just felt weird.
Overall ... definitely a huge improvement over the trainwreck that was my first run in the Guides. I think these may be a keeper. I'm happy.

Now that I have the shoes that I hope will carry me through training for my first half marathon ... I have to pick the half marathon. I know, I know, this again. But things have changed. Previously I was focusing on a Disney race or something fun. But lately that's changed. I want to do something local to take the pressure off. If I do something local, I don't have to worry about travel or timing ... it's just get up and go. Less pressure. Once I get through that race, then I can worry about other things.


I think my best option is the NYCRUNS Frozen Bonsai Half Marathon (December 11, 2016 in Central Park). The race is three laps in Central Park, which is kind of boring, but I like Central Park (sometimes), so I'll survive. It's nothing to exciting - a basic, no frills race - but maybe that's just what I need. I'm not excited for it, but we'll see ... I'll think about it.

The other possibility is trying to get into the United Airlines NYC Half Marathon, but that race is probably way to intense for me. And I'd do it through the lottery, so I there's no guarantee that I'd get in.

I'm also thinking about the Jerusalem Half Marathon (March 17, 2017 in Jerusalem, Israel). As of right now, I wouldn't fly to Israel just for a race. But I'm likely going anyway for a wedding (which I don't know the date for yet), so if the wedding happens to be close to the race (and not the night before), I would try to make it work. A second option is the Tel Aviv Samsung Half Marathon (2/24/2017), but I'd rather do Jerusalem. Either way ... it depends on when the wedding is. And even then, it's not a done deal.

Currently plan for my next race is to do the same Turkey Trot I did last year, this time with Beth, but we'll see (about the Beth part - I'm planning to do the race either way).
 
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