The Start of Training, A New Book and the Hunt for New Shoes!

Yesterday was my official first day of marathon training!!!! I'm very excited/anxious about the upcoming semester. It's going to be tough and a lot of work...but...I'm willing to go though that to run this marathon. I plan on registering for the Rock 'n' Roll Arizona (YAY!!!) before 9/15 for two reasons. 1.) If I register now, I will definitely be running it (no ifs, ands or buts) because I'm not paying $105 for nothing. This will push me to train harder.
2.) If I register after 9/15, the price goes up to $130. Ouch.

I definitely know I want to run it, so after I get back from Wales (by the way, I'm going to Wales, I'll tell you about that later...) I'm buying my ticket to the race! :)

I have a schedule for my marathon training, of course. With help from my lovely sister. Thank you Joann! I'll write more about this later...it may take up a whole blog post...

For my 1st training run, I was supposed to run for 20 to 30 minutes.
Time: 23:51
Miles: 2.49
Avg. Pace: 9'34"

More to come!!

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I'm trying to start on my goal list early! I was browsing Bookman's when I stumbled upon this book about running (one of my goals is to read a running book, for fun). :D 
From what I understood on the back cover and online descriptions, the book examines human evolution with a focus on running. It discusses endurance and how/why we run like we do. It's written by a nature writer/biologist/ultra-marathoner. It should be interesting. :) I haven't got a chance to sit down a start it, but I will soon. It sounds good, and I hope to learn a thing or two from it. I will let you know what I think when I finish!! But be patient...books take a while for me to get through, especially when school starts up. I tend to savor every detail when reading...which is not the fastest way to read.

Lastly, I need running shoes. I haven't had a new pair of shoes for quite awhile now. It's been years. Seriously. So, I'm on the hunt to get me some new ones! I plan on splurging on good shoes at my local running store. :)

These are my sad, sad current shoes. They really do look sad. The green ones are losing the bottom heel part, but the blue ones seem to be holding up pretty well, considering how long I've had them. Reminder: I bought these shoes for cross country in high school, so they were probably on sale. Not the best quality. 

If anyone thinks there is a shoe I MUST HAVE, please let me know. I will definitely look into it! I'm researching like crazy. :)

Hope you all had a great Monday (Or a better than the usual Monday...)!