Taking time to get good advice

I started this journey not really knowing what I was getting myself into and with little knowledge about long distance running. I had run cross country in high school but this is quite different.

I learned quickly to ask for advice from people who know more about this than I do. I've made some mistakes already. The first, Nike Air that were worn out and just fit. Price, lost 2 toenails and gained some pretty nasty blisters. Went to the Nike Store and was fitted correctly for distance running after what I felt was a good assessment by an employee there. She put me into Nike Vomeros. Problem solved. She also suggested body glide and Nike dri fit socks. THANK GOD for the new shoes, body glide and socks. All have made a huge difference.

I had the priveledge to workout with and be trained by none other than one of my fitness heros, Shaun T on a week long Caribbean cruise in March before I began training. Shaun is not a distance runner but he was a track star and is an incredible trainer. His workout programs, Insanity and Asylum were what prepared me to begin this training. As I talked with him he told me to ice my knees every night whether I felt I need to or not. That has really helped. The training and workouts on the cruise were the toughest I've ever been through in my life and they have done a lot for me when it comes to mental strenth and this sport requires a lot of it.

Last week I began having pain in the right shin, yep, shin splints. The advice was slow the pace and distance, ice the shin good and Aleve or Advil. Although I wanted to push further I listened to the advice and today I feel good.

I was humbled by a post in our Livestrong group yesterday and while it wasn't really advice, it put this whole thing back into perspective and got me right out of my pity party over the shin splints. I'm doint this for a purpose. I lost both my parents to cancer and it's an honor to run for and raise money for an organization that does so much to help those affected by cancer. There are people who were themselves affected, and very recently and yet they are pusing ahead to their goal and to help Team Livestrong in their mission.

If I can offer one thing to anyone new to this or to anything else it's this. Find people who know what they are doing, listen to the advice and then put it into practice.

I had to consider that if I kept pushing ahead and hadn't slowed down and taken advice would I be out of at least my half marathon July 4th? Sure don't want to have that happen.

What if I hadn't asked for help with the shoes? More blisters? More lost nails? Who knows.

I'm a Beachbody coach and when it comes to exercise and nutrition, there is no one size fits all. I work with my customers to find a workout and nutrition program that will work for them so that they will stick with it. If they don't like bootcamp type workouts then selling them Insanity isn't a good idea.

I've found the same to be true with distance running. You get good advice and then experiment to see what works best for you and you need to push but you must also listen to your body and not push to the point of injury.