The First Day

Today was Training Day One. I think I was supposed to wake up full of energy and excitement for this journey. I woke up hungover. Sadly, I'm not sure if I was hungover from consuming too much food or too much alcohol the night before. Jenn and I went to dinner at a dive bar with three other girls from work. Trust that we were ever-mindful of our lofty running goals while we consumed fried things. At one point, I made Kelly run after the bartender because we had forgotten to put in our order for Cheddar Munchies (a tator tot/cheese curd hybrid that is as life-changing as it sounds, dipped in ranch). When Kelly got back to the table, she asked if such running was part of our training program and said, "I should have made you do that, Fat Girl." And that in a nutshell is why I've had a major crush on that woman for almost four years. While we're on the subject of fried foods, I should mention that I have no illusions about training for this race being some sort of panacea for all of my body/eating issues. Economic principles tell me it can't be so. While a good pair of running shoes costs over $100, a bag of cheesy goodness from Taco Bell costs less than $5. Speaking of expensive running shoes, Jenn and I went on a little adventure over our lunch break to acquire some. We heard tell of a fancy store where they watch you run, pay attention to things like stride and form and all of that and recommend a good shoe for you. We were terrified. Jenn was nervous they weren't going to approve of her breathing technique or that she'd be nervous enough about that to fart on accident. These were minor concerns compared to mine, which included retaining any shred of dignity and not splitting the only pair of dress pants I own that fit me anymore. We had to run a short distance a few times (we're talking less than 30 yards) while being observed. I broke into a sweat. Not kidding. I'd like to think it was the nerves of being watched, but I know better. We did that a couple times in each pair of shoes, and made some decisions. Jenn's were in stock and she went home with a red pair of Brook's. Mine will be here in less than a week. I was incredibly relieved to put back on my four inch peeptoe heels and get back in the car. It took me the entire 15 minute drive back to work to stop sweating. I had Statistics class tonight (just a few more weeks of grad school!). During class, I ate a 100 calorie pack of Goldfish crackers and drank a diet coke to prepare myself for the toughest run I've attempted since freshman year of college. One and a half miles. Details on that in just a bit....