New shoes, new plan, fun times

I started my "extended half marathon" training yesterday based on the personalized Smart Coach training plan and two days in, so far so good! With running, I am plan-oriented for the most part. It's easy for me to "fall off the wagon" if I don't have a piece of paper or a website of which to be accountable. Yesterday's run was a simple, easy run and today's was a tempo run. I was pretty proud of my performance today--tempo pace was supposed to be (don't laugh) 11:42 per mile for 3 miles but I ran 11:49 for 3.3 miles instead. I realize it was a little slower than plan but gimme a break! Those hills that I run are killer to me!

I'm enjoying my new shoes! Yes, I finally went and got fitted. I struggled the day before trying to decide whether I should go to Fleet Feet or Swag's but I stuck with Fleet Feet. I'm so glad I did, it was so much fun and the young lady that helped me was so nice and *ahem* helpful! They've got a nice crew there and I (as I'm sure many others do) appreciate them!

So here's what I'll be training in for the next couple of months--the Mizuno Wave Nirvana 4.



I can tell a difference in stability for sure, especially today when I had to run on acorns instead of pavement. LOL Everything is falling from those trees and lands either on ME or on the ground and I have to either dodge them or step on them--in my old shoes, I would have broken my ankle 3 times over today. :) I'm going to wear them in another day or two, hopefully it'll be smooth sail...errr...running!

I took a small section of trail after my run today and it was so beautiful. I'm going to have to head out and do some long trail running very soon, perhaps this weekend! I'm so excited!