New Kicks

Check out the new kicks!! I got them last week. Okay yes they are almost identical to my old shoes, but hey if it ain't broke..



Training is going along. I ran ten miles again with the team yesterday morning at Kelly Drive. I stayed with Caitlin for the first 8 miles and I think we were faster than a ten minute pace because I was like exhausted the last two miles. Big things happened yesterday:



1. It was the first time that I have run the loop since the 20 in 24 race last July ('08). When I ran it the last time it was 95 degrees out and I was just not having a good running day. My brother, Sean, and my dad were working the first water stop which was 2 miles in and I was already walking when I got there. Mentally I was not in it, that hot summer morning. Since that day I have kind of had a fear of Kelly Drive. I have dreaded running it. With Team in Training and with the 5K I did on New Year's I ran it, but only on the boathouse row side... Anyway it was clear that my mental block was melting away. We ran from Lloyd Hall up to Ridge Ave, then back and across Falls Bridge and finished the loop. When I ran a year and a half ago we did it in reverse, so it was a different view. I remember doing the Aids Walk in High School and that was the only other time (making 3 times total) I have run (walked) the loop. Being a runner in Philadelphia, that's pretty rare. But I did it, and I didn't walk. Although the last two miles were a slow trot, I pushed through it.



2. I drank Gatorade and had a Gel pack for the first time while running. I have been nervous about drinking anything other than water. I have had past experiences with drinking water and getting cramps. But after hearing our coach on Tuesday Night it became clear that I HAVE to eat and drink when I run this. I took a gel pack, Chocolate, at the water stop about 6 miles in, a little less than 6 I think.. It didn't taste that bad at all. Caitlin grabbed a twizzler and I had to giggle because here I am worried about some Gatorade (I mixed it with water, just in case) and people can actually eat candy and still run..



So even though I had to drop back from the group in the end of the run, it was still a big day. My time was better than last week, but I am not exactly sure how much better because I don't know what time we started. I am thinking it took about an hour and 40 to an hour and 45 mins to finish. Considering the Broad Street run two years ago took me two hours to run, I am pretty satisfied.



All in All it was a good week.

This is a longer than usual quote, but it's just that good:

"Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race”
~Calvin Coolidge