my next half:under two hours

and yes, those are my favorite running shoes :) mizuno wave creations, to be exact.
well friends, its time for me to start training again! in just 10 short weeks, i'll be joining two friends, brittany & jess to run my fourth half marathon. crazy! over the thanksgiving break, i teamed up with my uncle and cousin to run the thanksgiving day half and scored this sweet medal

and although i didn't have the most stellar time (2:07) i definitely earned my turkey! but its a new year, 2012 brings lots of energy and excitement for me, and as i mentioned in my resolutions, this year, i will run a half marathon in under two hours. even if its 1:59:59, i'm determined. the date of the big race is march 18, and the race will be the publix half. i ran it last year in 2:14, so we are shooting at shaving off 14 minutes. totally doable, right? i think so!

not my actual time because when i crossed the start line, there was already several minutes on the clock due to start waves

so i'm getting ready to lace up my shoes & get to work. the last week, i've been easing myself back into running. i took about a month off, which was much needed, but now it is much needed that i get back to work. so i'm going to be sure and include updates on here for you, including race day coverage! here's my training plan, in case you are interested. and as i have mentioned before in my blog, you can follow my training on dailymile, via the widget over there on the right side.

(m=monday, t=tuesday, w=wednesday, th=thursday, f=friday, sa=saturday, su=sunday)
(r=rest, m=miles)
week 1 (starting jan. 9) m=r, t=5reps of 200yd hills, w=5m, th=3m, f=workout, sa=6m, su=3m
week 2 (jan 16) m=r, t=4reps of 600yd hills, w=3m, th=4m, f=workout, sa=8m, su=3m
week 3 (jan 23) m=r, t=6reps of 200yd hills, w=3m, th=4m, f=workout, sa=7m, su=3m
week 4 (jan 30) m=r, t=5k for time, w=4m, th=6m, f=workout, sa=9m, su=5m
week 5 (feb 5) m=r, t=5k for time, w=3m, th=5m, f=workout, sa=7m, su=3m
week 6 (feb 13) m=r, t=6reps of 880yd hills, w=5m, th=6m, f=workout, sa=10m, su=5m
week 7 (feb 20) m=r, t=6reps of 880yd hills, w=4m, th=7m, f=workout, sa=8m, su=3m
week 8 (feb 27) m=r, t=4m for time, w=6m, th=7m, f=workout, sa=12m, su=6m
week 9 (march 5) m=r, t=5m, w=5m, th=8m, f=workout, sa=8m, su=3m
week 10 (march12-RACE WEEK!) m=r, t=5m, w=5m, th=8m, f=rest, sa=5k for time, su=13.1!!!!!!

so there ya have it. might have to switch around some days, but thats my plan for the next 10 weeks.
i would love your encouragement, and if you're up for it, a running buddy! pick a mileage and a day, name the place, and i'd love the challenge!!

anyone else planning on running the publix half marathon or full marathon? check out some details here! http://georgiamarathon.com/ 

yay for new shoes!

so the other night, i ordered new running shoes- yay! 

i had to tell you about the site i used to order them- after going thru ebates, i found this site called roadrunnersports.com. not only did i get 8% cash back through ebates, they had this awesome option to purchase a VIP membership for 1.99 that ultimately saved me $14! so basically, i paid $2 for a $14 coupon. but the good news is, the membership lasts for a year! and it got me free shipping, which is basically another $7 or $8 off. 

my shoes were shipped out within a few hours and i got a nifty email documenting that. they should come in tomorrow, which i am pumped about. all in all, i definitely recommend them!! check them out for your running gear!

five fingers!

so this weekend, on our way up to rome to visit nathan's sisters, we stopped by abbadabba's (a shoe store in little 5 points) to try on some shoes. i'm not sure if you've heard/seen/tried the new craze of "five fingers" shoes, but after several members of my family got some, we decided to give them a shot- and we loved them!

abbadabbas has a HUGE selection of shoes- especially the outdoorsy, granola type. after skimming the chacos and keens and birkenstocks, we found the display of five fingers (made by vibram). they had a ton! assorted colors and styles entertained us while we searched for pairs that we liked. nathan had been doing some online research and thought he wanted the "classic" fit in a green color, but we both decided to try on a few different styles. first, i tried on some pretty cute pink ones, but we both decided the color was to particular to match my wardrobe. nathan tried on the pair he found online, and loved them- he was pretty sure those were the ones he wanted (they don't have a strap- i'll have to take a picture later to post on here), and after trying on a pair with a strap, he went with his original choice. they look really cool!

i ended up picking out this pair:

the kind i got are the "SPRINT"

and i really like them! we wore them around saturday, and then when we went to the lake with some friends, we wore them around out there too. they are actually surprisingly comfortable, and great because it feels like you are barefoot but you don't get your feet nasty. i'm going to try to run in them today- nathan worked out in his yesterday and said it was awesome. here's some more pics if you haven't seen them before

it's kind of cool- your toes get like trained to go in them. the first time, it took like 5 minutes to put them on, but now, my toes know just where to go!

vibram's website explains how they work here: "Our revolutionary design makes feet healthier by allowing them to move more naturally and freely. The typical human foot is an anatomical marvel of evolution with 26 bones, 33 joints, 20 muscles and hundreds of sensory receptors, tendons and ligaments. Like the rest of the body, to keep our feet healthy, they need to be stimulated and exercised."

check out their selection online, and if you really like them, head to abbadabbas or rei (thats where my folks got theirs). i'll update this post after my run today!