Ok…it’s serious.  I am doing it!  I am registered, pumped, and got the t-shirt!  Woot!

I am also a bit scared.  I have never done anything like this… it’s all foreign territory.  Here I am: a 51 year old virgin.  Well, virgin runner, that is!

First thing on the agenda (after actually signing up and paying) was to get some real running shoes.  My PayLess BOGO specials weren’t going to cut it, so I went to FaceBook for some advice from friends.  I got a couple of recommendations and went to Fleet Feet with them only to have the sales girl tell me that those particular brands probably wouldn’t be best for my feet and running experience.  Ok, she’s the expert, so I listened to her and got something called New Balance.  Hmmm…ok, I could use some balance in my life, so it’s all good.

I have never had anyone take measuring my feet so seriously.  First I had to put on some sample socks.  Weird, because I was actually wearing socks, but okay.  She’s in charge.  Holy crap… those socks HUGGED my feet!!  I have never felt anything like them!  First sale for me: those awesome socks.  Then all angles and possible measurements of my feet were taken.  The last time a sales person spent any time fitting someone for shoes was when I took my kids for their first walking shoes to this place at the Boulevard Mall that had a red fire engine in the store.  (You Buffalo folks know which place I mean!  And if you remember the name of it, please remind me.  It was over 20 years ago since I bought baby shoes!)  Then she had me run back and forth down the front walk while she actually video taped my feet!  It was like a science experiment!   She showed me my running feet and analyzed whether or not the shoe was “right” for my body.  It was like shopping at Olivander’s for sneakers!  She also pointed out that I had good form because I ran on the balls of my feet.  I’m not sure if that’s accurate considering I have had zero, zip, zilch training, but it made me feel good!  And then I had the biggest decision to make… the COLOR!

I went for bad ass hot pink!

My past sneakers have always been white with perhaps some colored designs, but never splashy.  Well, I said I wanted to add color to my life, so hot pink it is!  And the selling point on the socks (besides the hugginess of them), “Cotton is rotten for running.”  Ok, synthetic socks it is!

Then it was time to take them on a test run…err… walk.   A group from the Biggest Winner Challenge was meeting at Henpeck Park (what a name, huh?) for a walk along the Erie Canal, so I decided to try them out.  2.28 miles and 43 minutes later, I was still doing pretty well!  No pain to complain of, so I guess they must be a good fit for me!  And if I can walk that far in under an hour, then one more mile for the 5K should only take an additional 21.5 minutes walking.  That’s a little over an hour to walk it for me… so if I run, jog, walk, run, jog, walk, I might be able to pull it off in less than one hour!  That’s my goal…under an hour!

The last thing I had to do this evening was pick up my 5K packet.  Wow!  For me to actually SEE a running bib with my name on it is daunting!  And exciting!!  And scary!!!  But it’s my first step toward that Color Run that I swear I am going to do in Buffalo on August 17th if I have to go it alone!

And here’s the final pic of the day (and a sure-fire way to see to it that I will not be taking any of those “hold the phone off to the side while standing in front of a mirror” pics anytime soon, if ever, again).

We shall see if that goofy smile is still in place come Friday night!