Take II

Prepare yourselves, this is going to be a looonnnggg post! 

First order of business- I had an impromptu talk with Mr. Bernstein yesterday.  Among many things, I asked him some of the questions I have come across while getting started with my training plan. 
          1.  If I am feeling up to it by the end of my run, should I continue and run more miles than indicated on my training plan?
               -No, I should stick to the plan as best as I can.  The most important thing is getting in those long runs.
     
          2.  Is it okay for me to switch the days around, for example doing my long run on a Monday (which would typically be off) instead of a Sunday, if I have a race on Sunday.
              - That's fine, and 4 days a week is a good plan for me especially with crew.

          3.  If I am capping my run at 3 miles, should I be running that fairly quickly?  Or at a pace I can sustain for a longer run?
               - Slow and steady, because I won't be sprinting the half when it comes time for that.

Second- I had my mentor meeting today and we went to meet Ms. Bullard.  She was really helpful and gave me tons of advice already, and also agreed to me interviewing her once I have the questions prepared.  She seemed very interested in helping me through this process which is awesome!  That brings me to...

Third- At our meeting today, Ms. Maddren gave me a long, letter looking piece of paper and told me I could read it later.  I read it as I was stretching after my run.  It was a lot of encouragement and helpful tips for my blogging and the whole process in general.  I am sure not all mentors would do something like this, and I am so lucky to have such an involved and supportive mentor!!!  You make me enjoy my project more and more every time we meet.  I really appreciate all you've done for me so far and I am ever so grateful that I get to work with you.  :)

Fourth-  I went back to the running store to exchange my shoes today, and it was a breeze!  I got lucky that the same girl was working and already knew about my feet, this project, and my goals.  She fitted me for a new pair of shoes.  If anyone needs any more reassurance that Finger Lakes Running and Triathlon Co. is the place to go, I hope this post is convincing enough.  They really are focused on helping the customer get what they need, and are ultimately about promoting the love for the sport. 

Finally-  My running has been going well.  I have been keeping up with writing in my training journal and I think I am finally getting the hang of forgetting about what I'm doing just enough to get in my head a little more, but still be conscious of what I am doing.  Everybody that I passed today was running with their ipods, and while I used to do that, I haven't been lately and I think that has helped.  Maybe I'll give it a trial run sometime soon to see if it makes a difference.  I have gotten some good routes down from my house, and I am now familiar with the distances and landmarks along the way.  All in all, the training is going well.  My hip flexors are a little tight, but I have been focusing on stretching really well.

Now I think that's enough for one post, if you even made it down this far, so I'll cut it off for now.  I will post this weekend about the old WISE journal assignment if not sooner with another update. 
So long!