Isaac and Newton

Yesterday Brent and I went to fitTRIrun, a local sports shop here on the island, for me to get fitted in a running shoe.  I have felt really guilty wanting to get new shoes knowing that our budget is tight and that shoes are expensive, but my Nikes are three years old, and after long runs, my back and neck ache like I'm 80 years old.  Not a good I-gotta-good-workout ache.  A I-can't-sleep-at-night ache and it's painful for me to walk around teaching the next day.

So I had two options: stop running or get good running shoes.

I don't run because I love running.  I'm not a naturally athletic person, and running definitely does not come easily to me.  But...

• Running is a great way to enjoy the island... or really anywhere I go.  So much of God's creation is forgotten or overlooked through a car window driving 70 miles per hour down the highway.  
• Running helps me escape and let go of all of the day's stress in the classroom. When I don't run, I overeat.  I cry.  And some days, I contemplate pulling out all my hair and quitting my job.
• Running is budget-friendly.  The shoes are an investment, and it's nice to have dri-fit clothing,  my running arm band and my iPhone for Pandora - but compared to a gym membership or sports that require lots of a equipment, it costs me only time and energy.
• I don't have the body of a goddess, but I don't want to imagine what it would look like if I DIDN'T run.  I take after my dad's side of the family, and they're all heavy set with lots of weight-related health problems.  I hope that running will help me stay in control of my weight and build my self-confidence in how I look.
• I want to run a marathon.  Okay, maybe a half marathon.  I want to cross that finish line and go to bed that night knowing that I did something that a year or two ago I never thought I could do.

So I went with option two.  I bought new running shoes. :)  The girl at fitTRIrun looked at my arches and how I land on my feet when exercising.  She asked me questions about my running goals and what I liked in a running shoe.  Then she brought me a lot of crazy-colored, different-feeling shoes to try on. I chose to go with these guys.  They're Newtons (I think I'll name them Isaac and Newton respectively) and they're three miles old as of yesterday evening. (Bucket List 4)  They feel different - she told me to expect sore calves for a few weeks while my body got used to them - but it was a great run!

After a quick three miles, we headed to one of our favorite spots on the island to catch the sunset.  It's a quiet little fishing pier there, one that we hope the island can keep secret as a sanctuary from the tourists.  Brent says even if he had a house out here and watched the sun go down every evening from his porch, he still wouldn't take it for granted.  I wonder where life is going to take us, if we'll have a porch where we can enjoy sunsets every evening together... and if we will, how long is it until that day and will we be able to make time to do just that?  I hope so.  I hope soon.