I'm in the same situation. I don't have the money right now to buy new shoes but I need them badly. There are a couple good stores in my town that do the same thing. One is Fleet Feet and one is called Ghisallo Sports. Fleet Feet is more of a running store and Ghisallo is more of a triathlon store. They both sell several brands. I keep hearing about Newton running shoes but I have also heard you have to build up to them. From what I hear they are designed to force your foot to land properly. They are also supposed to be light as a feather. I would love to get a pair someday but I am not convinced that I run with proper form yet. I really don't know what kind of shoe would work best for you and I. We have very similar run times. I can run a flat course 5K in about 26 to 28 minutes right now, depending on how I feel. If I get a new pair soon, I will let you know about my buying experience.

Awesome!

I'm pretty much 100% sure that I do NOT run with proper form, so I would def need to work up to the Newton running shoes... although it would be nice to have something that was so light.

A flat 5K course - my dream I think I could pull 26-28 minutes on a flat course, especially with the race adrenaline going on!

hey you! ur doing great... and im sure its just going to get better!! all the best i'll be checking in once in a while and i better see encouraging updates from u

Thanks Surya - I'm glad you will be here to hold me accountalbe

Not too much to update today. I had a great day yesterday, ran 3.25 miles, ate well, etc... I was hoping to go run this morning, but had a very sleepless night with my kids. My oldest is sick and woke up around 4am and my youngest is still not sleeping through the night... so she woke up at 2am and 6am. When I was up at 4am I went ahead and decided that I would try to run this evening, around 7pm (should cool off by then). If I'm not able to get out of the house I will just do my yoga DVD tonight and move my run to tomorrow.

Today is going well so far; I'm working hard to resist the Panera Bagels in the break room. They are my favorite! I had a nice bowl of Fiber1 cereal this morning so I'm not hungry and that is helping me resist the craving.

I'm actually dreading the weekend a little bit. We have to go to our old apartment tomorrow to clean up and paint the walls. I hate painting (and cleaning, actually). My wife was supposed to be there to help me, but now our daughter is sick, so I will probably be going by myself. ew. Hopefully I will be able to get everything done tomorrow and not have to go back on Sunday! That would suck.

Oh - I went and saw The Hangover yesterday. AWESOME movie!

Well, my official weigh-in isn't until tomorrow but I just had to get on the scale today. I'm still in shock.....

175.8!!!!!!!!!!

I am SOOO happy

Oh... and I ran 4 miles today, with hills, no walking

What a good weekend!!

yayyyy u!! 175.8!! thats 5lbs down isnt it?? good for u!!

It is almost 7 pounds!!

Outstanding DW.

Doesn't it feel great

Good job with the running and reading your posts is inspiring. My shins hurt running on pavement but these trails I discovered today would be great on my shins, that's another adventure I can add to my exercise.

Thanks GGH, it does feel really good

Thank you! I had the same problem when I first started running. My shins would get really tight and it would hurt to the point that I could not run. If you have the same thing as me, then I have good news - it will go away as you run more and more. My shins never hurt and I am very grateful.

Running on pavement can be hard on the body. I try to run on different types of surfaces so that I won't be thrown for a loop during races. Before my first 5K I only ran on dirt, then the 5K was on the road. It affected the way I ran, for sure!

The week is starting off in a positive direction. I had a rest day yesterday, but did very well diet-wise. I am trying to gradually replace some of my regular foods for more 'clean' or natural foods. It's hard! I'm taking baby steps... I know I need more veggies and protein in my life and a lot less starches/carbs. I'm going to the grocery store today and will definitely focus on this goal

As I expected my weight immediately jumped back up after my four mile run - basically as soon as I put the water glass to my mouth. This morning I was 177ish - so I am still really happy! I drank water like it was going out of style yesterday, so I'm not surprised to see large fluctuations.

I got up this morning and went for a short run. Did 2.5 miles. Since I knew it was going to be a shorter run I tried to push myself in the speed department. I was going slow at times, but really tried to make a conscience effort to keep my pace on the fast side. I felt good after the run and I'm really glad it's done for the day!!

Tomorrow I will probably do around 3 miles, another 3 on Thursday, take Friday off (usually my cheat day). For the weekend I plan to do weights and/or yoga on Saturday and my long run on Sunday.

Haven't decided if I'm going to stay with 4 miles for another week or move up to 4.5...

Wow - I can't believe it is already July... where did the year go! Where the freak did June go!

Yesterday was a hard day for me. The baby didn't sleep good the night before so I didn't make it to my morning run. I was hungry all day and ate lots of food. Calories probably stayed within my normal range, but just barely I did really good until dinner, and then kinda indulged in my wife's good cooking... had about 2x more than I should have

BUT after dinner I went for a 30 minute run around my new neighborhood. It was hard (lots of hills) but I felt MUCH better afterwards.

I've decided to not get on the scale again until Sunday, after my long run. I think that is going to be my official weigh-in day / time. When I got on the scale yesterday for the July Postcard Challenge it said 178.0. That's 2.2 pounds up from my Sunday weigh-in, but I'm sure it's just water weight so I'm not stressing. If I'm back at 175.8 for this Sunday I will be happy - 7 pounds in two weeks is still great!

Don't get me wrong, I would still love to see another pound or two GONE!

Hey that's awesome! I think you may have been dehydrated when you weighed 175.8 but no big deal. The important thing is you are 178 a couple days later so that is great.

Keep up the great work. One thing I am personally going to do different is record only my lowest weight each week and simply keep track of that on my calendar. As long as I am losing 5 lbs every 10 weeks, I will be happy at this stage. That will get me to 188 by the end of August. I can live with that.

I came to a crossroads last weekend.

I've been 'back on' my eating/exercise plan for the last 2 weeks and things are going well. Weight is down. Energy is up. Life is good.

But, am I happy with the way my body looks? No. Not so much. I'm getting smaller, for sure, and look okay in my clothes - BUT I am not happy with the way I look sans clothes. I still have fat around my lower stomach and chest. Also, I have no definition anywhere except my calves (thank you running!)

So, what to do?

Revamp! Re-energize! Re-assess!

I took the long weekend to research and improve my eating and exercise plans. I don't want things to be 'okay'... I want things to be GREAT - PERFECT. If I want to see major improvements in my body, I need to be strict, eat clean, and work hard. I cut all of the crap-o-la out of my diet, increased protein, and completely changed my exercise plan.

I feel so great about my new plan, and I know that it will lead me to the body I desire/deserve.

Stay tuned for specifics about my diet/exercise plan

The sweetest treat does not taste as good as a fit body.
EVERYTHING you consume affects the way your body looks.