Having said that, I have ran my little feet off in the last month. I run for health. I run for my health. I have no desire to be the fastest runner, sprinter, marathoner, etc. I run because I want to see my nieces grow up and because I like what I see when I look myself in the mirror. I’ve dropped 23lbs taking care of myself. Go me.

On April 14, I decided to set a goal to see if I could run 20 miles in two weeks and I actually did it. I was surprised in myself. I could easily find 101 excuses not to run/workout, but I did it.

This post is actually dedicated to the shoes I ran in. Serious runners will balk at the thought of running in them. I bought those shoes at Old Navy for $19.99 in late July (or August) of 2012. I needed a pair of “workout” shoes and since I had decided to train for my first 5k in Nov 2012, I needed shoes. My runner friends said I needed to get a “real” pair of running shoes and that these were just for looks. I didn’t listen. I had spent $100 plus on those so called real running shoes, got fitted in a running store, got the right socks, got the right laces, etc before and all of that did was wipe my checking account and hurt my feet, arches, and ankles. The $20 cheap shoes didn’t cause half of the pain my “runner friends” said they would.

I had to retire those shoes this week. I felt the bottom giving on one of them. I probably could have ran another 10 or 20 miles in them, but I sadly knew it was time for these to go.

These little beauties carried me through training for my first 5k, running my first 5k in November 2012. They went through about 200 miles of running, walking, jogging, etc. They helped me drop 23lbs.

They were seriously the best $19.99 I ever spent. I’m going to miss running in them.