Not how I wanted the week to go....

Thank goodness I've given myself 200+ days to train for this half marathon because it has been difficult the past couple weeks to get the days of practice in that I want. Last night was no exception. We had plenty of weather in the area and I wasn't sure if the nasty stuff would hold long enough for me to run. I had also expected Mark to be home a little earlier than he was, allowing me time to go finally go to a running store and get fitted for shoes. While the weather may have held out long enough, Mark definitely wasn't home soon enough for me to fit both in. So, I made the decision the go get my shoe situation figured out - while it took away a day of training, the hope of no longer running in pain was worth it.

Mike from Garry Gribbles was awesome. My feet are a mess - and the shoes I've been running in were definitely not right for my feet. Tried on several types, brands, etc. - even had to go to men's sizes. We found a couple that were pretty darn close. None were a perfect fit, but I got the impression that Mike was doing everything but coming right out and telling me perfect fit wasn't possible. I was willing to go ahead and spend the money on a pair even if they weren't quite perfect - mainly because they had to be better than what I've been running in. I jogged the sidewalk in front of the store before purchasing and they felt pretty good. Maybe a little tight on the left side but my hope is that is because they are brand new.

Mark left this morning for a quick road trip, back tomorrow night, which means I won't be able to train at all before the race on Sunday. Against my better judgement, I am going to break the new shoes in during the 5K. I just feel like that running that race in the shoes that don't fit right will be worse than breaking in new shoes. I guess we'll see. I'm excited for the race - disappointed that I won't be able to get a few miles in before the starting line.

My goal for Sunday's 5K - complete it in 35 minutes. I've been pacing about a 42 minute 5K, but that was with multiple stops due to the pain in my feet and legs. I'm hoping the new shoes will help me push through and meet my goal. I'll be ecstatic at 40 minutes, but am striving for 35.