Running Hodgepodge

Ahhh...Sunday mornings. We have a tradition in our house that Sunday is "Pancake Day", which was started about 8 years ago when my husband was last on sea duty. Sunday was the only day he was home in the morning, so we always had a big family breakfast together - pancakes, eggs, bacon, potatoes... yuuuummmmmm. It's a tradition we've kept through war, new duty stations, overseas assignments...and it's no wonder that 8 years after it started, I had some serious poundage to take off! But we continue on with the tradition, although today was "French Toast Day", and my portions were much, much smaller. :)

It's been a fairly busy week, and I've been working hard at keeping up with my training. I did 8 miles of walking and 17 running; all of my treadmill miles were at 9:50 pace, and the 5K miles were at 8:17 pace. I still feel like I am struggling to get beyond 4 miles on the treadmill. I am just completely out of breath and fatigued by the time I reach 3.5 miles. So I heard this story on NPR this morning and thought....hmmmm....maybe getting on the treadmill first thing in the morning on a virtually empty stomach is not such a good idea! Carbo loading may help alleviate this ongoing issue.

Then I read this story in the NY Times about running sneakers. I'm partial to Asics myself. They feel so good on my feet, like they were specially made for me. And they're definitely at the low end of the price scale - I usually get them at Kohl's when they're on sale so they run about $49. As the article says, more often than not, the less expensive shoes are as good for your feet as the pricey pairs - or better! I know I get my money's worth out of my sneaks...I figure in a given month I'm putting between 75-125 miles on them, including wearing them around town. I'm just in love with my sneakers and I'm not afraid to say it!!

Lastly, I kept thinking of this song as I was finishing my 4 9:50 miles this morning. Maybe it was the runner's high or something, but it made me smile....hope it does for you as well...