It's Official - I have registered for my FIRST MARATHON!

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It has been a long time coming with multiple injuries to sideline me, but it is now finally official - I have chosen, and registered for my first marathon!

The Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon on November 14^th 2009, will be my first official marathon.  I am very excited as this has been a very long time coming.  I ran my first Half Marathon back in February of 2008 and was planning my first Marathon later that year.  That was before my trip-up and broken collarbone that took me out of the running scene for 8 months.

I also registered for my next half marathon in the process.  The ING Marathon is starting a new Half Marathon series called 13.1 Marathon and the first time it will be in Atlanta is October 4^th 2009.

I will be looking into training schedules soon, but I know I am well on my way to being ready.  I just need to make sure I stay focused and injury free.

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com - subscribe - follow

S.W.A.T. Trot - Take 2

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It is coming up on the one year anniversary of the S.W.A.T. Trot.  This was the race last year that I was tripped in and fell and broke my collar bone.  You can read the whole story here, and throughout the month of June last year or I can tell you the quick story here.

Start Quick Story

I was tripped coming out of the gate, landed on my head and shoulder, broke my collar bone in two places, had a pin put in to help it heal, was kept from running for 8 months.  I just started running again at the first of the year.

It was a very long 8 months of not being able to run, not to mention all the other things that I had to put off, or not do at all in normal life during that time.

End Quick Story

Well, I have just filled out the paperwork and am signing up for it again this year.  This year my daughter, Payton, will be running the 5k with me instead of just the 1k like she did last year, and my son, Brady, will be running the 1k with me.

I am excited but also kinda apprehensive about this race.  I am not worried about being tripped again, but I am sure I will run this race differently than I was trying to run it last year.  Last year I was trying to set a PR so I was running up with all the faster people at the start.  That is probably what put me in the wrong place at the wrong time, causing the accident.

The race will be run on Saturday, June 13th at 8:00 PM.  It is one of very few evening races that I have been a part of.  This will be my daughters first 5k race.  She has just started to practice with her Cross Country team this week and we have put the 5k distance in a couple times together.

Wish us a fun and injury free race!! 

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com - subscribe - follow

Side Note:

The race is put on by Greater Gwinnett Road Runners - www.ggrr.org I have wanted to run with them, but have never been able to get in touch with anybody affiliated with their group.  They never update their website, and the e-mail address bounces.  I really wish I could get in touch with someone to see if the group is actually active.  I may even be willing to offer my services to keep their website up to date!

A New Personal Best

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Today sets a new personal best for me.  It is not a PR, but it is really close.  It was not a race, but I ran it almost like a race.  Today's run was one of the best I have ever had and came very close to being a PR, even though it wasn't a race.

Since today is a holiday and I am at home I decided to not get up at 4:40 to go running, but rather sleep in a little bit..... OK, a lot.  I rolled out of bed just before 9:00 and decided to head out for a run.  My running partner is out of town so I could run whatever I wanted to.

I actually set out for a 4 miler, but about 1/2 mile into it I decided I would change that up and see if I could finally break into the 7's.  I have been flirting with the 7's for about a month now and have gotten as close as 8:02, but have not been able to break through........ until today!

The first mile didn't get me there (8:08), but it put me at the pace that I needed to be at that would get me there in the second mile.... all I needed to do was keep it up.  The second mile felt great, but I really could feel that I was pushing the limit a bit.  As I rounded the corner coming up on the last 2 tenths of the second mile I looked down at my watch and knew that I would accomplish what I set out to do.  The second mile did in fact turn out to be my first 7:xx mile in over a year.

Just over a year ago I was running most of my races in the 7's, including my 10k's, but then as many of you know that all came to an abrupt end when I was tripped in a race and fell and broke my collar bone.  After 8 months of not running, I was nowhere near the 7's.  I have now officially made it back to the 7's and I am happy :)

My second mile turned out to be a 7:36, so I didn't just get into the 7's I blew past the top of the 7's and settled just above the mid 7's.  As if the second mile was not good enough, I was in a good groove and continued to run what felt good.  My third mile was even better than number 2, clocking in at a 7:19!

I finished off the run with a .1 so I could call it a 5k, plus I wanted to see how close I could come to my Racing PR of 23:23 for a 5k.  I came much closer than I would have guessed.  This is the fastest 5k training run I have ever run, with a 23:49 and a 7:40 pace..... and I came in just 26 seconds above my 5k race PR, a race PR set over a year ago before my injury.

If you cannot tell from the way this is written - I am very very happy! :)

Today's Run Logged

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com - subscribe - follow

Need..... New..... Shoes.....

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I am way beyond needing new shoes.  I am going to save myself the ridicule by not telling you all how many miles I have on my current shoes but let's suffice it to say that I am way beyond the suggested mileage..... way beyond!  There are ways for you to find out online but I refuse to point it out.

I have known that I have needed to replace these shoes for some time, but was putting it off while I took care of some other things financially.  I was given a gift card for Fleet Feet, where I bought my first two pair, that would have purchased my next pair but I chose instead to use that gift card to take my daughter to buy her first pair of real running shoes.

I had found a place online that I could buy the shoes I currently run in for just $70, but was still putting it off till I could come up with the extra money.  (yes, I am aware, putting it off could cost me more in the long run)  I really like the shoes I am currently running in.  They are the New Balance MR768ST's.

It has finally started to become critical.  I am starting to have strange issues very similar to the last time I needed to replace my shoes.  I am having issues with my ankles, my hips, and other very strange aches and pains.

I finally decided it was time and I was going to make the purchase.  I went back to the site that had my shoes and would you guess..... they no longer had my size and it looked like they were being phased out.  I did all kinds of searches and came up empty everywhere I looked.  Many websites had the shoes but nobody had my specific size and width.  I was getting discouraged.... I really didn't want to switch shoes.... yet.

This morning I was happy, but somewhat cautiously optimistic when I went back to all the sites I went to Thursday and checked again..... only to find one website said "hurry, only 1 left" when I entered my size and width.  I was also pleased to see that it was the store that had it cheaper than most other stores..... and they were having free shipping this weekend.  I checked, and double checked to make sure I entered everything correctly and made the purchase.  The final price being only $63 with tax.  I will be happy when they arrive.

The store that came through for me? Joes New Balance Outlet

What did I learn?  Don't put off buying shoes this long next time.

I did a little more research and found that New Balance has replaced my shoes with a new shoe so next time I will probably have to change shoes.... but I am happy that now is not the time.

***UPDATE 5-26-09****

I just received an update - they just cancelled my order saying the shoes were not available.  I was worried about this - now I guess my worries came true.  Now I don't know what shoes I will buy.  I am not comfortable just buying a different pair because I don't know what other pair will actually give me the same support I need.  It seems the only option I have will be to go to the store and get fitted again.  I just didn't want to do that because I didn't want to pay $100 for my next pair of shoes..... really can't afford that right now!

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com - subscribe - follow