Week 3 Day 7 / Week 4 Day 1

I pushed back my long run by a day (from the last day of Week 3 to the first of Week 4) because of my ankle. It's so crazy frustrating to have this one spot that only hurts when I'm putting weight on it and trying to move forward. So, I took an extra day of rest and walked/jogged the 4 miles today. Walking hurt much less, but that might be only because it was in comparison to the jogging - OUCH. To be honest, I looked like one of those little old ladies that was shuffling rather than actually running or jogging.

As Aubrey pointed out, pronation (over or under, which I think is the cause of my ankle injury and my knee injury, respectively) is impacted by shoes. So I just order another pair. The current pair that I'm using are a relatively new pair of Asics Gel Strike-2; nothing fancy, but at ~$45 per pair, they are cheap. The pair I just ordered are the Asics Gel Foundation-9. They should be here on Friday or Monday. I'll keep ya posted!

But, the fact that in 3 weeks of running, I have somehow magically and mystically injured myself in a very weird way (hah!), raises the question: Am I ready for this? To answer the questions:
1) Have you been running for a year? No (Likewise - not off to an auspicious start)
2) Do you have enough time to devote to training? Yes, for the first time in my life, I don't feel like this is competing with other life/career interests.
3) Are there other stresses in your life? Heh - unlike Twilight, I'm stress-free ;)
4) Do you think you can do it? Yes. As Twilight once pointed out to me: If the guy from "The Biggest Loser" can do it...
5) Why do you want to run a marathon? Yes, ok. I share Twilight's competitive edge. But I also have a much more immediate interest: It's crazy fun to learn these new things about my body. Ok, not to be overly hokey about the whole thing, but think about the kinds of experiences women (sorry dudes) are having in their bodies at our age: kids (some of them have had more than 1... or 2, some miscarriages), one of my friends has successfully battled eye cancer, and one of my friends is positively addicted to hot yoga. I looked around and thought, "When have I ever tested the limits of my physical self?" Certainly, a PhD has tested the limits of my mental and intellectual self. And all my crazy exboyfriends have tested the limits of my emotional self. But physically? Never. And learning about my body this way is a really cool opportunity. So, finishing will feel amazing. No doubt about it. But so will this process of learning - again and anew - who I am and what I like and what I don't like. Who knew that I would prefer a long run to the Farts? Certainly not me. And I never would have known without this.