Time on Feet

I think this food blog is going to become a running blog for a little while.

In a little less than two weeks I will be running the Georgetown to Idaho Springs Half Marathon. Whenever I thought about the race today, I started getting queasy. This race is important, because I know that I will throw my previous PR far behind me. As my husband said, I will "destroy that." That being the half marathon. Nothing says "my wife is the goddess of running" quite the way that statement did.

I have been using two pairs of shoes for my runs, and it's not working. First off, my old Asics Nimbus that has about a million miles on it and has been serving as my mid-week run shoes is perpetually sweaty, and I'm getting tired of putting on damp shoes. They are almost completely smooth on the bottom, so I decided that I needed different shoes. A few weeks ago, I placed an order for a pair of Asics Blur shoes to use for short runs and cross training, and today I decided that I need one more pair.

Before I go into my shoe excitement, let me say that I adore my Nimbus shoes. I have been running in the Nimbus shoe for years now and it has never steered me wrong. I will continue to do my long runs in the Nimbus because it is like a Cadillac. It's premium, cushy, and keeps my feet happy and blister-free. So Nimbus, I love you. But some day one must understand that monogamy belongs in other areas of life than the running shoe locker.

After work, I headed to Rogue to enlist the help of their shoe pros. I left buying a surprisingly affordable, fast-looking pair of Brooks Launch. Yes, I am wearing a shoe called a Launch. Not something with the same name as Harry Potter's broomstick. They weigh practically nothing. It is like being barefoot but with this cute fast-looking accessory south of the ankles that will protect my feet from things like broken glass. While the Launch is hardly anything near a minimalist shoe, it's less than what I have been wearing and I'm excited and a little nervous to try it out on the dreadmill tonight. Tomorrow I have speed work in this unreal heat. Maybe I'll be faster?

I made my way home through the traffic and got nervous about the half marathon again. In the past, I have always worried about my ability to actually just finish the race. This time, it is a race I anticipate meeting, a distance I know so well that I will run with different legs, a different mind. Since marathon training began this time, I have learned to manage pain. I have learned patience. I have learned that there are a great many things I can do that I didn't think I could. Run six days a week? Yes, it absolutely can be done. Run a nine-minute mile for 13.1 miles? I think I can do that. Will I? Maybe. I think if I break two hours I will cry. I wish Bret could come. The thought of experiencing that moment without him seems ridiculous, but maybe I can be a wee bit selfish and keep all of the excitement for myself. Just this once. And call him to tell him I pwned the half marathon.

Running is different for me than it used to be. The miles have become a part of who I am, what I do. I don't really wear my iPod much anymore, because I'm too busy running to listen to music. It matters, really matters, what shoes I wear. This half marathon is extremely important to me. I am confident, I am a runner. And... I'm healed from all this stress I've been under. When I sat trying to think about what this larger shift was happening in me, I realize that I'm no longer in this post-insanity state of partial panic. I am moving forward. One foot in front of another. As one of my new running buddies told me at the end of a particularly difficult long 16-miler, "time on feet."