A Registration Rush!

I am currently experiencing a REGISTRATION RUSH!   It happened the moment I clicked on "finish" and the "print waiver" form popped up on my screen!  My heart started pounding when I glanced down and saw the line "Bib Number.....4005"!

It's official!

I'm getting up at 4:30 am and driving over the bridge to Tampa to find a parking space downtown in some parking garage and then walking to a start area I have absolutely NO IDEA where it is.  I will join a crowd of strangers in the dark, all crammed together, just waiting until 6:45 am.  My wave, which will probably be way far back will move together like a heard of cattle with anticipation of some breathing space happening around the first mile mark.

Of course with me will be my faithful running buddy Lisa, whom I persuaded to enter this race with no more training than the 12 days we have now.  I will be all up and excited and she will be too and we will both have our usual pockets of "coaching each other through it"; mine in the first half and hers toward the end when my rush out the gate enthusiasm is now exhaustion!

Without shame I will admit I am doing this to rack up a medal with my collection and another t-shirt I won't ever actually wear again...ever!  My long range goal is to run every race from 5k to full marathon. I also want to be able to get a nice long race in at the beginning of this new year to let that accomplishment drive me the rest of the year through.  No doubt I know this will give me new material for my blog.  Lastly, because I feel bad for my new shoes who have never experienced the thrill of a finish line crossed.  (Is it a little weird that I personify my shoes?" Go ahead, say yes.  I can handle it.)

So, with that I say LET'S DO THIS!!!

#4005

New Shoes Transition-

The new shoe transition....

Painful.

Sometimes literally.

You leave a shoe that fit you like a glove, that's why you had them so long.  The arch was perfect support, the sizing kept you from rubbing off your toenails and the the soles were shaped to provide you a perfect hit and roll of the foot.  But now, you get a new shoe that fit when you tried it on in the store - but out on the trail, after repeated pounds on the pavement, give you blisters, hurt your arch and you trip as the rubber hits at an unexpected point off the pavement.

Painful.

Emotionally.

You had those old worn shoes so long and they have been along for the ride...or run, for a year maybe two or maybe five.  You and your shoes ran on new roads together, broke personal bests, pushed through a rough morning of no energy, charged a hill two more times, crossed a finish line, passed that young twenty year old, and doggonit stepped in that dog poo someone didn't pick up on the trail!

Painful.

Mentally.

Will these old faithful shoes feel abandoned?  Do they feel tossed aside now that they don't sport the new hot neon colors so "in" this season?  Am I justified in throwing them in the garage just because my repeated rubbing of my wide feet made holes from my pinky toes?  Should I throw them away or should I keep them as reminders of the segment of my fitness journey between total beginner runner and training for a full marathon where I learned to run with strength and focus? Should I take the old tie clip off and put them on my new shoes or just buy new ones?   So many questions...

The new shoe transition...

Trepidatious.

Will these new shoes break my flow?  Will they jinks my focus?   Will I get out there tomorrow and be all "I don't know how to run in these new shoes"?

Full of possibilities.

I'm going to have to get a lot of new neon shirts to go with these new neon shoes.

Transforming.

Look how old and nasty my old shoes look next to my new one.  Why did I wait so long to get new shoes?  What was I thinking?   Does the trash go out tomorrow? 

Hey get my shoe tie clips off those first.

And to think that 5 years ago I didn't even own a pair of good running shoes...