Begin at the beginning

So I've made the first however many steps to getting out there and running again. Learning from my mistake in September of just trying to go a gung-ho 3 miles without getting my form back in shape and almost blowing my knee out, I decided to stat almost from square one again and found a Couch to 10K program that I plan to follow. I'm starting at week 3 because I really can already walk for 30 minutes straight regularly... and the 3 minute jogs are well below me too. the 5 minute jogs today were a good start because I can do it easily, but I did try to go Gung-ho again and was able to realize by the end that I have to pay stricter attention to my form the next 3 times that I go out on this week's planned run/walks. I also found out again why I love running outside. Total zen experience... in the winter I barely come across any other people at the nature preserve and today I saw a fox standing in the trail ahead of me and staring at me. Fortunately he/she scampered off into the brush well before I got there. Hopefully it wasn't rabid. It felt good. I'm gonna be a little sore in the muscles though.

Also, since my velour jogging pants from last year outgrew me... & since I haven't been able to find cute replacements, I bought myself my first "track suit" - pants charcoal with BLINDING magenta piping and then a BLINDING magenta jacket with charcoal accents. Hopefully this will help with visibility if I have to run in darker near-road conditions. I feel like a bit of a tool, but it is comfy.

Warning for any male readers: girl stuff coming next (aka bra-reviews)

On other news, we went to PSU this past weekend. It was, at best, a comedy of errors involving a clogged toilet, a roll-away cot that was nowhere-to-be-found, and a 3 or 4 different plans to hang out with another couple that never came to fruition. The final nail in the coffin of my experience was that, as I was getting ready to drive home at 7:30 AM so Jonah could make his soccer match, my bra broke. MY BRA BROKE! Normally I wouldn't care, but this is the end of a moderately irritating weekend and it was a really expensive bra from Victoria's Secret called The Wave that was purchased as an every-day luxury item. If a Hanes $10 bra lasts me two years, the Victoria's Secret one will be a nice luxury that is more comfy and more support (or so the theory went). Pros: The Wave is the most comfy bra I have ever put on, it has convertible straps so that it can be racer-backed or halter, was constructed in such a way that you don't get indents across your back-flab, and was "secretly" leopard print on the inside eventhough it was utilitarian otherwise (yes, guys, we like funky stuff inside because it makes us feel like even something boring and functional can be a little wild). The cons: it greeeew... over time the foam that was the base stretched or grew or something so that it got too loose around and it BROKE... I went to put it on the same way I put on every other one and the strap came off. For only the second time in my life, I returned something used. (the first was a pair of shoes from target in which the soles appeared to be made of cardboard and nearly had a hole in them by the end of the first day). I took the bra back to VS because I've only had it for about 3 months and the strap fell off. This is either a design flaw or a defective product, clearly, and expensive to boot. The store people were very nice and credited me most of the original price (seemed fair since I had used it for 3 months) and I exchanged it out for the Very Sexy Multi-Way Bra. Aside from the fact that it gives a pleasing shape, I'm not sure where they get the name "Very Sexy" for it, but it also has convertible straps (in fact it came with a second pair of clear ones and a halter extender), came in skin color, is super comfy, and has removable padding. So far I'm happy enough. Let's hope this one lasts. : )