I'm Back :)

Hi Everyone! Well, I am back in the blogosphere after a week-long hiatus! My trip to the Jersey Shore was great, and it was great to see many of you (Chris- sorry you guys didn't make it down, hope the lil guys are feeling better!). I am happy to report that my scheduled training went very well, I pretty much stuck to schedule, just shifted days around a bit. I have to thank Sarah for getting my butt motivated enough to run on Sunday morning. I didn't quite follow my beer-to-mile ratio, but its all good :)

Mileage total for last week: 35.

Mileage goal for this week: 30.
Monday- 4.5 miles with Kristen
Tuesday- off (laundry and chores!)
Wednesday- 6.5 mile run with run club* more on that later!
Thursday- 3-4 miles after work (before dodgeball- crosstraining!)
Friday- ATTEMPT a 3 miler before work...(hey people, I need motivation too!)
Saturday- 5 miles
Sunday- 11 mile run with run group ladies
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Anyhow, today I am sort of stuck on what to talk about. We've covered a few basics, and I don't want to bore anyone with too many details of my training progress. But one thing that I think is great to adopt is a running log.

Its a well-known fact that keeping a food journal helps people to loose weight, keeping a written log of finances helps keep spending down. In much the same way, documenting your running will help you stay on track. Or, at the very least, it will show you where your downfalls are. Maybe you constantly skip out on the weekends? After a few weeks you will begin to notice patterns. I use the website www.mapmyrun.com* to record my training mileage. I will switch to my excel spreadsheet once I commence my actual training on July 20th. From my experience, it is best to plan out a week's worth of runs at the beginning of the week, so you have a measuring stick. If you skip a run, try to jot down a quick note as to why. Are you feeling sore? Did something come up during the time you'd allotted? Were you just Lazy? Whatever it is, just WRITE IT DOWN! No one will see except you, and it will help you make future adjustments to be the best runner you can be!

**Mapmyrun.com syncs with Garmin watches, great for anyone who has one (and if you don't have one, and are considering it, they are AWESOME. It also syncs with Facebook, and various other social networkings sites. This lets you share your training with friends are family, awesome! Be sure to send me your link if you signed up so we can follow eachother!
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Shoes, Shoes, Shoes

They are so important! This past weekend I finally ditched my dumpy saucony's that have been giving me trouble. I had an old pair of Aisics (Nimbus) laying around that I decided to give a try. So much better! I am going to go this week and get a new pair of shoes. For anyone in the market, this Runner's World article gives a pretty thorough review of some of the newest styles, definitely worth checking out:

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-240-400--13130-0,00.html

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As always, I love hearing your feedback, training stories, and everything else. Please let me know if there are any topics you'd like me to cover, or stories you'd like to share!!

~Danielle