Mid-July Update (sorry my subjects are not exciting)

It's the middle of the month of July and I have already logged 35 miles! Woohoo! I have at LEAST another 27.75 left for the month - which is what I have scheduled with the training group, but I always like to to go a little above the set schedule each week (or so has been the trend), so I'm sure I will do more. So if I just did the scheduled distances with the group, my total monthly miles for July will be 62.75 miles! Let's see how much we can add to that...

I've been out of town this past week in Atlanta for work. I managed to get my miles in as well as do a 4-mile race with my friend/coworker, Justin. Our boss threw a shindig at her lovely house the night before and we ate and drank and had a great time. We of course left way later than we should have and definitely ate more than we should have, but it was all so good (we had home made mac and cheese AND lasagna)! So on little sleep and full carby bellies, we went out and did the race the following morning. Not too bad for me - there were hills of all sizes on this course. A shock for my body, but I liked the challenge. I ended up finishing in 41:03.

7.2 miles into my new PDR!

Jen running through the beautiful Isle of Hope neighborhood

On the 4th of July, some of my running mama buddies and I did the Watermelon Crawl at Lake Mayer/Isle of Hope put on by our local Fleet Feet. There was a choice of a 6-mile or 8-mile course, and I did the 8 mile with Jen (thanks for popping my 7.1 cherry, girl! LOL). This was a new personal distance record for me!! The previous longest distance I had done was 7.1 miles (recorded by Nike+ in 2008). The Isle of Hope is an awesome place to run.

I'm testing out some new inserts for my flatass feet. I tried them on the 5-miler today, well one insert in the right shoe only. I tried both on last Sunday's 5k and my left foot started feeling funny (in a bad way) during the run. It says you have to get used to them, but today, I didn't feel like getting that foot discomfort on a long run, so I only used an insert in one shoe (right). I might just wear them both around the house or something to break them in more. I don't know. Or I might ditch them altogether. I guess "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" My arches/feet have not been bothering me at all, but I read that if you over-pronate due to flat arches, it can cause back problems and knee problems. My knees are pretty bad (thanks Dad!), and I get back aches sometimes after runs (which I figure is due to my scoliosis), so I figure I'd give it a shot. They make my feet feel like they are being pushed to the outside of the shoe. A weird feeling. We'll see.

Happy running!