Is it two much to do two half marathons with only 1 month in between. I'm already registered for the Va. Beach 1/2 on Sept. 2, but I'd really like to do Baltimore again because I had a lot of fun last year. That one is sometime in October. I believe the 16th (if that's not a weekend it's the weekend right around there.)

What do you think? Is that asking too much of myself? I'd really appreciate any input you all have.

In other running news:
Last Saturday I did not get my five miles in and I was so frustrated. I started out and was almost in tears I was in so much pain about 1/2 mile in. My shins were on fire and I could feel the knots in my calves getting tighter and tighter. Turns out it was time for new sneakers. In some ways it was almost a blessing in disguise. If my shoes had crapped out two days later I would have been back at school and not able to get my sneakers at the only running store I trust. (Mainly because all the employees are runners themselves and they are so friendly and let you take the shoes outside to run in them to decide if they work for you.) So it worked out OK. I was able to get my new shoes and bring them back to school and not really miss much training.

I was so excited to try them that on Monday I set my alarm for 6:30 with the hopes of getting a run in before I left for my internship. Turns out it's still pretty much pitch black outside at that point. I re-set my alarm for 7 hoping the extra half hour would buy me some daylight, but no luck. So I wasn't able to test out my sneakers until Wed.

But when I did it rocked. It was so nice to have cushioning in my shoes again. (Just extra info: I'm running with the Mizuno Wave Inspire 3's) The run itself wasn't the best. My legs felt really heavy because I had been so tired all day, but all the pain was gone.

I just got back from another run tonight. And it was amazing. My speed has naturally been picking up which really excites me. I also went out later tonight than I usually do and the sun was just setting but it was still light. It was nice and cool with a little breeze and everything about the run felt amazing. I feel AWESOME! :O)

As far as the cross-training goes: Swimming on Tuesday went really well. I went for 40 minutes. 4-100's with 10 seconds between 8-50's with 5 seconds between and I repeated it twice. My shoulders were sore the next day because swimming uses muscles I don't use a ton, but I felt great afterwards. I'm planning to get another 40 minute-ish session in the pool in tomorrow morning.

Apologies for the uber-long entry. It's been a while since I've updated and I had a lot to say. I'll try to keep it shorter next time! :o)