This year, as I have said before, I plan on running in my first full marathon. Training for that particular race isn’t set to start until February 13th, 2017 but in my mind, I’ve already started training. It’s almost like I’m training to get prepared for training.

I’m starting this new year and new training plan with a new pair of shoes. I tend to buy new shoes fairly often because as soon as I start getting shin splints, I know I need new ones. In the past, I have been mostly a fan of Asics but two half marathons ago I had an excellent pair of New Balance shoes that I still love to wear but are not “road ready”. I recently purchased a pair of New Balance M720’s for the first bit of my training (I’m anticipating having to buy at least one more pair prior to the marathon).

As a present from Kait, I received shoe tags that provide some motivation for me as I run. One says, “Keep Going” and the other says, “You’ve got this”. I was spending some time thinking about it and I think these are a great idea. In the middle of a run, your feet or legs may be tired and close to failure. You want to stop. But when you look down at the things that are causing you pain, they are a source of motivation and inspiration, telling you you can do it and you can keep going. I think that is just great and I’m really glad I have them on my shoes. It’s day one of 2017 and I am really looking forward to seeing how far my running takes me this year.