Next marathon...and new toys!

I know I still need to blog about the San Diego marathon I finished on June 5...I promise I will soon! There are just a bunch of photos and things I want to say, so it's taking some time.

But in the mean time, I have registered for my next marathon. I kept telling myself I wanted to do ONE more (after being hurt for my first marathon in Honolulu) and then I would stick to half marathons. But let me tell you, it's addicting. AND, I came so close to running San Diego in less than 4 hours so I want to do another one so I can achieve that goal (long story short, I was way ahead of the 4-hour pacer, but got a sharp pain in my foot at mile 24.5 and had to slow down/walk a bit...causing me to not beat my 4-hour goal). SOOO...I have signed up for the California International Marathon. It is here in Sacramento on December 4. And it's supposed to be a really fast course (net downhill!). I figure I'm already in running shape (even though I haven't ran since the marathon!), so it should be easy to pick up the training again. And I have a half marathon planned for October with my best friend Jenny in San Luis Obispo, so that will be fun/motivating as well. Now I just need to find someone to do the CIM with me in December...and someone that will push me to beat the 4-hour mark (Jen?)...and maybe qualify for Boston? :-)

AND, to help me keep my pace during training runs, I just purchased the Garmin Forerunner 305 and Garmin Foot Pod. A friend (Jen) has the Garmin Forerunner 305 and I love it. It not only tells you how far you have ran, but it tracks your course (so you can download it later on your computer), tracks your heart rate, and the best part...tracks your pace. You can set the pace you would like to run and it will periodically beep at you if you are running too slow or too fast. Pretty awesome, huh? I also ordered the Garmin Foot Pod so I can track my distance/pace when I'm running on a treadmill or somewhere that doesn't get the greatest satellite signal (for the GPS). I'm pretty excited (only runners will understand, haha).

(Off subject, but not really) Buying the Garmin made me think of this shirt I have seen at the marathon race expos...I crack up everytime I see it (again, only runners will understand/laugh).