So I FINALLY got my new sneakers. I had been running in Brooks GTS, which were awesome, but a bit heavier. I had put many miles on them and recently added a bunch of mud. So now I have new mud sneakers and new running sneakers! Recently, my knee had been bothering me More precisely, the side/back of my knee. It hurt to go down stairs, went away when I ran, then hurt more after I ran. Self diagnosed ITBand issue. Seems to be going around. Three other girls in my running group have similar issues. Maybe it was something in the limited edition snow we got here in Virginia that we only see every 5 years or so. Either way- suck. So, with miles and pain adding up with the snow, it was time for new shoes. I actually went and got properly fitted. They measured, they photographed and they let me put my nasty bare feet on their nice shiny clean floors the gentleman assured me they washed each night. I guess he thought the face I was making was at his floors not the thought of me messing them up. NOT a job I want, touching all those feet. Ewww! and tada! I am now the proud owner of Asics Kayano 19's, though the first shoe he offered was the Brooks GTS, but I wanted to try something different, 'cause there has to be the miracle shoe that makes you fast- right? However, with the Virginia is for Lovers 14k 2 weeks off, I had to rest that darn ITband. I ran a lovely 10k with my running group through the woods last Sunday, cause hey, they offered wine at the end. But I paid for it. Normally, I would push through, but I really don't want to screw this race that's coming, so here I am, ogling my lovely shoes that I still haven't worn. Darn it!

Last saturday was the 2nd XC race in my series as a 6k which will finalize next saturday in an 8k. It was freakin' cold, muddy and a whole lot of hard up hill at Mt. Trashmore, if it had been forested it would have been like running through the woods behinds my parents house, minus a few deer. Through the mud, up the little hill, catch your breath, up the big hill, down the big hill, catch your breath, though the mud and do it again. It was hard, muddy, cold and wet and I wasn't winning anything, BUT I loved it. My shoes have to dry to scrape the mud off, my ears were cold even with the hat (not so sexy hat), and I was not ready for the big hill, but I did it :P, I wasn't last and I actually would do it again!

Running Home

Saturday morning I ran a cross country race in a park tucked in the back of Chesapeake. Such a nice change of pace. I really enjoyed it. The fog sat on the hills so thick it made your hair damp and the river and pond off to the side looked like soup. There were birds every where and the best part...you couldn't hear any traffic. Had the hills been bigger (and the air MUCH colder), I could almost imagine I was running at home in Maine. A great way to start the morning :) I wasn't the fastest by any means, but I certainly enjoyed the run and the whole way, I kept looking off to the side at tiny animals popping among the greenery. Home, home, home. Its such a funny place. You can't wait to leave when you are young, but the way you remember it when you are older, it suddenly becomes a mystical place you would love to raise you kids. Trust me, growing up on an island mid-coast Maine, is incomparable. I can remember running up hill, (yes, both ways- we lived at the top of a hill) the wet air tasted like cold sea, and the bite of the cold could seep through the wool layers, but you felt so alive when you ran, as fast as I could, just a mile, just long enough to get rid of whatever adolescent anger I had that day-chasing my mind, even then.