First and foremost, thank you to Larisa, Brenda, and Phyllis who have helped me pay the registration fee for my very first half marathon, the Rock and Roll San Diego on June 3rd. Also, thank you to Shaun and Betty who have offered me their home for the weekend so that I do not have the extra expense of a hotel. I am extremely excited that I am going to be able to go, but there are other expenses that I still need your help to afford. Please see the Sponsorship tab to view details of how you can help!
This week marked the beginning of my training. I am following (loosely) the Active.com 12-week beginner program to increase my distance. The longest distance I have ran was on January 15th, the Rock and Roll Arizona 1/2 marathon relay, about 6.3 miles. However, I ran/walk the whole thing. I am currently running about 2-3 miles straight, and would like to be able to run the whole 13.1 miles without having to walk. That is my #2 goal…. my #1? I want to finish this race, running or walking, in under 3 hours! That’s about 13:75mm (minutes per mile).
My first run this week was 30 minutes, about 2.2 miles and went pretty well. Since I hadn’t ran for 3 weeks, since the relay, I had to incorporate a little walking in between each mile. I had my shoes fitted at Runner’s Den in Phoenix, a little running store that specializes in matching shoes specifically to your feet, I have been pleased up to this point! After my relay race, it was recommended to me to get insoles for my shoes, that this would help improve my form. So my second run was also supposed to be 30 minutes but I started feeling shin splints, so I decided to walk the rest of the way home. I took out the insoles since I wasn’t getting shin splints before, I think my shoes were right for me all along!
I took a rest day today to accomplish some much needed to-dos and also to let my legs recover. I will pick back up on Monday and continue my training and will try to give updates at least once a week.
Cheers!
-Hannah
hannahherman 
First of all, it may not have been the inserts splinting you, it may have been the lack of running and stretching. I would play with both. Also I am extremely proud of you not giving up and challenging yourself again to run. I have learned in my training that the longer distance is so much better for me. short distances are very mentally challenging. i have recently noticed that about mile 5 or so i get this release of like tension in my legs and i feel like i could just keep going. I ran my race yesterday 9.3 miles nonstop. And it was challenging but very mentally easy. its a strange feeling when your body hurts for a while and then settles in. I had read about it but started experiencing it recently. So with all that keep it up and I will be here for you 100% of the time Love you.