The Rocket is Back!

Last weekend I joined my friend Ashley for the Pacer's Running Festival half marathon. It was a beautiful day, clear skies, warm but not too warm, a nice cool wind. I knew I wasn't in great shape, and since I wasn't going to get a personal record, I decided to run the whole thing with Ashley, whose pace is a little slower than mine. She appreciated the company, and I appreciated the fun of not having to run hard! As you can see from the picture, I had fun and felt good the entire time! After the race I saw this handsome young guy looking straight at me and smiling... wow, I still have it, ha? ... yeah, no... it was Eric, who had just finished a great race, and Allison, looking more beautiful (and taller!) than ever after running a fabulous 5k.

So, as you may suspect, I'm back to full-swing running! It's been about 2 months since I started back up without injuries, shin pains, or accidents. If all goes well, I'll be running all 26.2 miles of the Marine Corps Marathon this year in 3 hours 40 minutes and get a Boston qualifier for 2010! The American Institute for Cancer Research, the charity I was fundraising for last year before my injury/accident, is going to "take me back", so those of you who were so kind to donate to the cause last year will be credited for your generosity (Linda, Rich, that's for you!), and those of you who haven't and want to donate, the page will be up shortly!

After learning so much about shin splints, I want to write an in-depth post about my non-scientific "findings"... but the bottom line is, the only thing that ultimately worked for me is changing my stride - shortening it so that my feet touch the floor right under my body and not in front of it, and avoid heel-striking.

The last piece of good news is, after struggling with 20 pesky pounds of fat that didn't want to leave my body, I am only 3.5 lbs away from my absolutely ideal weight! This morning I was shocked as I looked at the scale... I had to weigh myself 4 times before I believed it. Right after confirming that was, in fact, my actual weight, I went straight into my closet to find the smalest pants I have, part of a purple suit combination. I slipped them on and bottoned them up as if they were part of my body. Rejoice, my friends, for my struggle is coming to an end!

With my new weight I'm hoping to run a whole lot faster... the first test will be this Sunday during the Capitol Hill Classic 10k... wish me luck!