New shoes and a new perspective....

They finally came!  As I mentioned earlier, my old running shoes were a bit too small and were damaging one of my toenails, so I ordered some new ones... Unfortunately, I've been waiting on them for quite some time now because the UPS guy doesn't have a key to my apartment building, so they tried to deliver them twice to no avail.  Somehow, they finally managed to get in the door a few days ago, and I'm super excited!  I totally had a little George of the Jungle moment pulling them out of the box (if you have no idea what I'm talking about, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1gl-uPS-2Y and skip to 7:25.... such a funny movie!).

I debuted these little puppies on my long run on this morning.... At first, I thought they were too big and that maybe I should have gotten the narrow, but after I started running they felt fine.  Maybe I'll get some thicker cushioned socks to help with the size difference... I am in desperate need of some new running socks anyways.  I really loved my old shoes (the Nike Pegasus 27), but they've discontinued them, so these are the Pegasus 28!  I mean, they look a bit different, but the ride feels about the same.... and hopefully they won't damage any more of my toenails!

And I must say, shoes aren't the only things changing around here.  As you know, I've been back to running for three weeks now following my time off for my stress fracture, and these three weeks have been unlike any other running experience I've ever had.  I ran briefly in high school, and have been running on and off for a year and a half, but have often been sidelined due to injury or lack of motivation.  I just never understood it..... why do people love this so much?!  In high school, running was akin to going to the dentist- if my parents hadn't pushed me to do it in a desperate attempt to help me lead a healthier life, it NEVER would have happened (and it usually didn't).  But after my first year of college, I began running to combat the dreaded Freshman 15, and I found I didn't hate it as much as I remembered.  In fact, it wasn't that bad at all.

But I didn't love it.  I didn't dread it, but it was more of something that I SHOULD do or something I NEEDED to do.  I made myself do it because I knew it was good for me, and because I felt good after I ran.  But I didn't love it.

But ever since I started training for this race three weeks ago, everything has changed.  I WANT to run... I NEED to run.  For the first time, I'm running towards something, and that has made all of the difference in the world.  I'm so excited for all of the opportunities that lie ahead: new challenges, new distances, new places, new races, new people... there's so much out there!  I can't quite put my finger on it, but one thing I know for sure: I'm in love.