Hot and Sweaty wins the race?

Whoops! I meant to have a post last week, but time got away from me and I didn't get around to it. Things happen!

I officially began half marathon training this past Saturday and... oh boy. When I started looking for training plans, I searched all over Google, Pinterest, and even asked friends on Facebook. I quickly became overwhelmed with all of the options and strategies available that I almost gave up.

I had a few people tell me about the training team that Sports Backers sponsors every year. I kind of thought it was silly to pay just to get together with a group every Saturday and run. I can run on my own, thank you very much. As the days that I needed to begin training started creeping up on me, the feeling of being overwhelmed took over. I bit the bullet and joined the training team. I mean... why not let someone else determine my training schedule. Sports Backers are the ones who actually organize the Anthem Richmond Half Marathon, so they have a good idea of what they are doing.

I was placed on team Falcons and we had our first run on Saturday morning. It was 3 miles, which I tend to do when I run by myself in the mornings so I thought I would be fine. Generally speaking, I was. I ran at a faster pace than I thought I was going to! I stopped to walk twice because I felt my body overheating and I wasn't trying to pass out on my first training run. 

For some reason, my body is extremely sensitive to heat and exerting myself in the heat is always a gamble. I've never officially passed out from heat exhaustion, but I've gotten pretty sick from it and it's not fun. 

Unfortunately, our route wasn't in an area that allowed for a breeze of any kind. The entire time I felt like I was running through and breathing in hot muck. It was disgusting, but I got through it. Other than the heat, my run felt really good! 

I was also able to try out my new running shoes and running watch. Consensus: Shoes - hate them; Watch - love it!

Brooks Ghost 6 - I miss these shoes

My running shoes were starting to wear out and I wanted to get new ones that I could train and run the half in. One of my work perks is 40% off Brooks shoes, so those are the ones that I prefer. I had run a few races in my Ghost 6s and LOVE them. I went ahead and got the Ghost 8s thinking that they would basically be the same shoe. I was completely wrong.

Brooks Ghost 8 - awful

The soles on the Ghost 8s are so thick and stocky and they gave me the worst blisters on both ankles. My Ghost 6s were so lightweight and the 8s were very heavy and clunky and awkward. Brooks is pretty good about returns and exchanges so I'm hoping to be able to work something out with them to get different ones.


My watch is a Garmin Forerunner 230 and my first impressions have been out of this world. I'll go more into detail about this watch in another post, so stay tuned! 

Keep on running!