Fancy New Gear

Today was a crazy day at work because I got a new student in my class. She does not speak a word of English, which seems to be the general theme for my kindergarten class this year. I'm beginning to think I should just not talk, because 1/2 my class doesn't understand me and the other half doesn't listen anyways!
This weekend I did some shopping for training/racing gear. First, I had a recommendation for a triathlon book so I set out in search of this book. Lucky for me, the only place that had the book in the area was a bookstore in the center of the town I work. I knew this meant I would see someone I know, so I dragged Eric with me and headed to the bookstore. Fortunately I only ran into one kid that I know and he hid behind his mom while we talked to her haha. This is probably one of the least shy kids I know, but something about seeing a teacher in the wrong environment confuses even the most comfortable of kids. I wanted to get some frozen yogurt, but I saw some more families I knew outside of the store so I decided that was my cue that I didn't need any dessert. Here is the book I got:
I haven't read every word of it yet, but I have skimmed through and it is already answered a lot of my questions about what to wear, how to go from one sport to another, and what to do on the day before/day of the race itself. I am sure I am going to be referring back to this book a lot as the race gets closer.
Also, with all of the training that I am doing I decided I should really get myself a serious pair of running shoes. My sister recommended a place called Marathon Sports where they actually look at your foot shape, how you walk/run etc and then recommend a couple of different shoes. I decided to try it out since I clearly have no idea what I am doing when it comes to running shoes. I headed over to the Cambridge location on Sunday. I love Cambridge because there are all sorts of great restaurants and stores there, but there is absolutely no where to park. It took me forever to find a space. The store was crowded but I still got a good amount of attention from one of the guys who worked there. He told me that I do not overpronate (yay) and that I do not need a ton of extra support in a shoe (does this mean I can buy cheaper pairs guilt free?). I brought up my recent problems with my knee and past history of shin splints, so he recommended I try a shoe with a little more cushioning. He also said that I should go up a 1/2 size because my feet will swell when I run. I had never heard this before but I figured he probably knows what he is talking about. I ended up with these:

They are actually Asics, which is completely different for me because I am very faithful to the Saucony brand. However, the Saucony shoes the guy gave me were not as comfortable (possibly because they were a 1/2 a size bigger than I am used to!) so I decided to try something completely different. I'm planning to run on the treadmill (aka completely torture myself because it's going to be raining and I'm sure its better for my knee to have the cushion) tomorrow morning so I'll let you know how they go. I also had a small impulse buy at Marathon Sports (if you are wondering how I am affording all this new gear- it's my new tutoring job and my travel point earning credit card of course!).
This is going to hold my ipod on my arm so that I don't have to hold it in my hand anymore. For as long as I can remember I have had serious side aches while running and I have had all sorts of theories about why I get them. However, my latest (supported by both my mom and sister) is that I need to have my arms more relaxed while I am running and holding something doesn't really support that. So...here is the solution: The Nike Sport Armband!
I really love work out gear...probably more than I love working out. But it is certainly a good motivator :)

Finally, for all the ice cream lovers out there- I just found out that TCBY will be giving out free frozen yogurt to Moms on Sunday. So if you are a Mom, or have a Mom, or have some kids that you can borrow to pretend you are a mom (hmm, do you think any of my kindergartners would pose as my kids for the day? they call me mom all the time so it wouldn't so hard)- go to TCBY on Sunday!