Nashville: New Shoes, New Training Schedule and a New Attitude!

I will admit it. I lost focus on running there for a bit and honed in on midterms and slingin’ Banana Republic credit cards all over the greater Nashville area. My horse blinders worked like a charm though because I have A’s in all my classes and was just promoted at work….but hearing about my studies and part-time job at the Green Hills Mall is not why you are tuning in to this on-the-edge-of-your-seat-excitement blog. So here we are: after a two week hiatus from running, Team TMOB hit the park this week rarin’ to go!

Tuesday proved to be one of the best runs Ben, Sadie (our pack leader) and I have had in a long time! I credit this successful dash to giving my body plenty o' time to rest and also the brand spankin' new kicks I’m rockin’ while jogging up a storm! Ben was sweet enough to get me a gift card for my birthday to http://www.athleteshouse.com/ here in Nashville. Sidenote - If you haven’t been and are interested in getting some running shoes go see Eric and he will hook a sista up! In order to determine the right shoe for me he took an imprint of my foot to see the level of my arch and where I put my weight on my feet – and…sigh…being perfect as I am – Eric was impressed by my elegantly high arch and graceful way of evenly dispersing pressure throughout my foot. No Dr. Scholls needed here!

I had my heart set on a red pair of running shoes because as I told Eric, “they look fast!” However the running gods had something different in mind, the Athlete’s House was out of size eights. I did find a great pair of NFL Titan colored blue Saucony shoes which is a big step for me. I’ve been a nike kinda girl all my life. (As I type this I am wearing a Nike shirt that I just ran in) but honey, these shoes are treatin’ me right I tell ya!

To go along with the new zapatilla de tenis (that’s tennis shoes in Spanish for the layman) we also have a new training schedule courtesy of Mrs. Laura Withers herself! Here it goes: Monday means cross train, Tuesday equals run, Wednesday is another word for run, Thursday is my day of reckoning with Jillian Michaels, TGIF because Friday we relax, Saturday is actually pronounced “long-run-day” and Sunday is a day of rest the lord hath made. For those of you wondering where this routine came from, it was what Laura used when training for her 1st half marathon with the Nashville Y….so in other words, it’s legit people.

Another compliment to the new shoes and new training schedule is a new attitude which emerged from a most peculiar source – the break room my work. Yes, when you open the magical “Employees Only” door you will uncover a whole new world full of back stock fine cardigans, business casual attire and the occasional men’s chino….. BUT you will also discover the origin of my inspiration: The Cheesy Motivational Poster. However this motivational poster is so fitting and the quote rings oh so true! I won’t keep you in suspense any longer. Read it. Live it. Love it.

“Every morning in Africa a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle – when the sun comes up, YOU'D BETTER BE RUNNING.”