Some reasons why August is grand

OK, remember that I told you I had some Amazon gift cards, and I was anxiously awaiting the arrival of some beautiful new Brooks Adrenaline GTS 13s in my size? Well, I got impatient. And, I did something I really wasn't planning on; it just happened.

Source

Yes, I bought (gasp!) another brand! And, yes, I was mostly influenced by the color! But, I did do some research and found that this model of Asics is comparable to Brooks Adrenaline. And, Asics come highly recommended from Running Buddy Lori. That's enough for me!

She's smiling because of her shoes.

I decided after last night's 4-mile treadmill run that it is time for new shoes. I can always feel it in my ankles. I have a pair of Brooks Adrenaline waiting for me, and the Asics arrive on Monday. I'm thinking I might switch between the two new pairs?

The shoes are extremely exciting, but there are other reasons I'm super pumped that it's August! Not something you usually here someone in Florida say ... But, it means it's half marathon training month! All the fun begins in the hot, miserable, sweaty, humid days of August. I currently have six half marathons on the schedule, beginning in October, and I keep wanting to add more.

I just found out about this half marathon in Lexington, Kentucky, thanks to this girl. My friend Erin lives in Lexington, and I love the area (and her), so ... hmm. Something to ponder.

And, I really want to do this half again. I have fond memories because of a beautiful half PR there. And, a beautiful trip to New Orleans after!

August also means it's core month. What's core month, you ask? Well, it's a month of core work in the form of a challenge, the August Core Focus Challenge, hosted by Kat at Sneakers and Fingerpaints. She rocks, and I know this challenge will rock! You can join in via ChallengeLoop to receive daily exercises, as well as a chance to win prizes. A strong core makes a strong runner!

Have you switched brands of running shoes? Do you like the switch? Do you use one pair of running shoes exclusively or change up your shoes depending on the day?

Wacky Wednesday

• Due to unexpected (but not unwelcome) guests, this past weekend and week are craziness. Add to that some madness at work, and we've got ourselves a party.
• Chloe loves having guests. As long as she's not left alone, she's a happy dog.

Please just don't leave me here by myself.

• Every day that Jessica Simpson doesn't have her baby is a day closer to my birthday! As mentioned previously: yes, I'm pathetic.
• College basketball ended on an awesome note. No, I'm not a Kentucky fan. I'm an anti-Kansas fan. I rooted against my school's rival the entire tournament. Finally, in the championship game, they lost. Good. I hope it's more painful that way.
  
• Baseball season is here, thank goodness! 

I heart summer and baseball (and my pine tar T-shirt).

Fun before the run

I trained for my training group. It’s not completely neurotic because you really do need to be able to run about three miles to start the training program. Of course, my motivation for training for the training group was to avoid being the worst runner in the training group. I did well up until the week before the training group began. Then, I went to Kentucky to visit my friend ...

I brought running clothes and shoes thinking I could run two of my four days there. Um, yeah. Didn’t happen. Not even once. And, not only did it not happen, I also ate a lot. And, I ate a lot of bad stuff. And, I drank a lot, too. Eek.

I did have a fabulous time, though. I went to the Louisville Slugger Factory and Museum, Churchill Downs and Maker’s Mark Distillery. They all rocked. Hard. Especially the Louisville Slugger Factory and Museum. I saw all kinds of awesome baseball memorabilia — not to mention saw Major League bats being made (60% of the bats used in the Major Leagues are produced right there).



One of my favorites: Derek Jeter’s bat. If you think I look extremely happy, it's because I was.

 

I got back to Clearwater on late Sunday night. I thought I’d have one day to get back to healthy eating and one run in before my training group began on Tuesday. Um, yeah. Didn’t happen.

But, I guess the important thing is that I did have fun. I get the idea that these next few months are going to be kind of intense, so it was probably a good idea to kick back one last time before running like a maniac.