I need new running shoes, but don't know where to start

I need new running shoes, but don't know where to start. I know I want to go minimalist, but there are so many brands and they are so expensive.

Do I go with the Merrell shoes I can get at my local mall for a really good price and get good reviews? Do I invest massive amounts of money in Newtons? They at least sell those at my closest running shoe store. Do I go for a more unusual brand like Altra? Do I go for the brand that interacts with me on Twitter like Skora, even if they aren't the most attractive shoes?

How do you pick your running shoes? Do you run in minimalist shoes? Do you want your running shoes to be "attractive"?

Can't snap out of the funk

I'm running a half marathon in 3 weeks. You want to know how many miles I logged this week? It's a grand total of zero. I can't snap out of this sad funk I entered after the Boston Marathon bombing. I'm afraid to race. I don't have any desire to train. I would rather sleep than hit the pavement.

Has anyone else experienced this? I need a good kick in the head or something to get myself out there to run. Come kick me.

Reflections on the Boston Marathon Bombing

I am a runner. This is a recent occurrence. I only started running December 1, 2011. I can count the number of races I have run on one hand and none of them is a full marathon. I am planning the Marine Corps Marathon in October. It's one of the largest in the country and doesn't have an unattainable (for me) qualifying time. I will likely never qualify for Boston. I'm too fat and too slow. I am still a runner and we are a community.

I was at Disney with my family when my brother texted me to tell me the news. The first thing I did was text my mother-in-law to find out if she had heard if her friend who was running in the race was okay. He was, thank goodness. Then, I cried. I cried for the father of the 8-year old boy who passed away. I teared up EVERY time they showed the gentleman in his 70s fall down. To train so hard for something and not be able to cross the finish line must have been devastating.

Then my thoughts turned to fear. Are the terrorists going to do something during the Marine Corps Marathon? Do I need to worry for my own safety at a race or my family and friends if they come to cheer for me?

Today, I was hopeful. Milk Dud took off on me at the airport and ran into a gentleman wearing this year's Boston Marathon shirt. I asked if I could shake his hand and wished him a safe trip home. I hope he didn't think I was a weirdo. I did wear my Cherry Blossom 10-Miler shirt ;) I have a plan. I am going to train my butt off and lose weight. Maybe one day I will be fast enough to qualify for the Boston Marathon.

How are you feeling after the bombing? Are you hopeful? Scared? Ready to get out there and run?

Cherry Blossom 10-Miler Recap

I ran my 5th ever race yesterday, The Cherry Blossom 10-Miler. I know that it seems like I run all of the time, but I don't race all of the time. I try to pick a couple of events here and there and train for them. I did mostly a good job following the free intermediate training plan provided by the race. Unfortunately, I missed 2 weeks of runs over 4 miles because I hurt my back and then was having foot issues. I figured it was better to rest than to hurt myself more. I think my training showed those missed runs. I wasn't quite as well prepared as I hoped I would be. 

Anyways, so here's how it all went. Friday, I dropped my younger son with my mother-in-law (Thanks, Mom K!) and took my older son down with me to pick up my race bib at the National Building Museum and then we visited the National Museum of Natural History. If you live in the greater DC area, that is a great place to visit. My little guy couldn't get enough of the dinosaurs and other skeletons. I think he could have spent all day there. 

So, I was a little disappointed in my grouping for the race. I thought I should have been in the corral prior to mine. Although, my placing ended up being correct. I was excited to have a bib with my name on it! 

I couldn't sleep Saturday night. I had to get up at 4am and walk the dog before meeting at my friend Danielle's house at 5am. When I walked the dog, I thought "Yeah, shorts will be tolerable in this weather when I start running." Yeah, I was wrong. We drove and Metro-ed down to the National Mall. We were able to meet up with some people who traveled separately, which was lucky since this was a race with 17000 of your closest friends ;)

Somehow I only managed to get one picture of the group, and I was missing a couple of members, but here are most of the Running Divas that participated (Sorry, Chris and Melissa).

Danielle was in a faster corral than I was, but since she is recovering from a marathon 3 weeks ago, she said she would pace me for the race. I told her I wanted to stay under 10. I did pretty well with that for the first 6 miles, then we hit Hains Point. We were on the water most of the race and I never got warm. My calves hurt and my feet cramped up. If you've never run with cramped feet, it's nearly impossible. Then there is the "My 2-year old brought home a cold" factor. For those of you who race, you know the first few miles are spent trying to dodge runners and figure out your pace. We weren't able to do that. In fact, Danielle and I crossed the finish line at the exact same time as 4 other runners. That makes it tough to figure how to keep yourself steady. I finished in 1:42:29, two minutes and 30 seconds slower than my goal. I'm not unhappy. I beat about 1000 people in my division and over 6000 people overall. I can deal with that.

So, thank you Danielle for helping me get through this race pretty close to my goal. As you can see, they are working on the Washington Monument after the damage from the earthquake in 2011.

I don't get down to DC very often, so here is the Capitol Building. 

The medal was an additional cost, but it's pretty. I am building up my bling wall, so it is a beautiful new member. 

My knee hurt a little. Milk Dud was so amused by the ice pack that he decided to sing to it.

My much-deserved refreshment for the evening. 

I would totally do this race again next year, but I'm wearing pants and not shorts if it is under 50 degrees at start time. Lesson learned. Time to train for my half in 5 weeks.