Answers

This morning I got up at 4:50 to get my run in before my Aunt showed up to do our workout.
I got through the first 4 runs and then I had to stop to stretch out my calves and then was able to finish the last 6. It's getting better but my pace was super slow. I don't know if my pace has slowed down because of the calf pain or if the next level of training has put that much of a strain on me. I'm hoping it's my calves because that seems to be getting better the training on the other hand is just going to get harder.

I got some answers to my questions about my calves though. Apparently I was right about the shoes causing me to run different. A friend of mine informed me that PureFlows are a hybrid shoe that transitions you from a heel strike to a midfoot strike. He said when I run, to concentrate on trying to land on the ball of my foot and pushing off instead of on my heel. He also said it takes a little while for your muscles to get used to the new technique and that I will feel some pain for a little bit.
I'm glad to know what's causing it and that it wont last forever.

New shoes......

I got my new shoes Thursday evening and couldn't wait to try them out. My alarm went off at 4:50 Friday morning and I was getting ready when Eli woke up. I only have a small window to run in the morning before Josh leaves for work. I knew that by the time I got Eli fed and back in the bed it'd be too late for me to get my 45 minute run in. Booo!

The kids spent the night at their Nana and Pawpaw's house last night so I was able to sleep in this morning (btw 8:00 is sleeping in for me) So 9:00 I was ready to hit the pavement.

I started my first run and was feeling great. The ankle and knee pain I had been feeling was almost completely gone instantly *yay for new shoes*
Second run still feeling good but my calves were starting to hurt a little...
Third run my calves were burning! I decided to stop a stretch them out. As soon as I stopped my calves tightened up and they felt like they weighed 20 pounds each. So I stretched for a little bit and they started to feel a little better. So I started back up again.
Fourth run I was feeling ok
Fifth run it was starting to burn again and I took a 30 second break in the middle of my 3 minute run. Hopefully none of you think I am a wimp because I actually have a very high pain tolerance but this was some serious muscle pain.
Sixth run I again took a 30 second break
Seventh run I just busted it out (at a very slow pace)
My cool down was excruciating and I couldn't wait to get home and stretch.

I did the yoga stretches that I talked about the other day and then did a few extra calf stretches

This is by far my favorite calf stretch.

I always do this stretch before and after a run.

So right now my calves are feeling fine the stretches really helped. But I have a question for all you more experienced runners.
What's up with the calf pain? Is it because of the new shoes? Are the new shoes causing me to run differently and therefor causing me to strain that muscle?

I really don't want to have this problem again on Monday when I run with the group.

Creepy run :)

I knew today was going to be a hard day to get my run in with it being Wednesday and us planning on going to church tonight. As I've mentioned before I hate running by myself in the dark and even if I did decide to run on the treadmill tonight I'd probably be to tired by the time we got home from church and got the kiddos in the bed and I'd make a hundred excuses of why not to run. So I decided last night to set my alarm for 4:50 and pray that Eli's schedule aloud me to run first thing in the morning.
Eli woke up at 1:00am but I was able to get him back sleep without a bottle. He woke up again at 4:00 and I went ahead and fed him and put him back to bed. Yay! The perfect schedule. He had eaten and was back in bed asleep and I still had 30 minutes before my alarm would go off. So when it went off I rolled out of bed laced up my running shoes and hit the pavement. Did you know it's still pretty dark at 5:00am? Yea, I didn't think about that and was not too happy about running in the dark. It freaks me out and I really felt the urge to bring a baseball bat with me or at least some mace. Not that my neighborhood is necessarily dangerous but it just makes me really uncomfortable.
So anyway, I started my run and decided to run and a much slower pace so I wouldn't burn out before the end again and was running about a 12 minute mile.
The run went really well (with the exception of it being dark and creepy)
I went 2.92 miles in 46 minutes and felt pretty good after I finished.
I wrapped it up with some yoga stretches that Women Run/Walk of Memphis had suggested..
You can check them out here.

So I ordered new shoes yesterday and I can't wait to get them. I have been long over due for a new pair for some time now. I've had the same pair for almost a year and a half and that's a big no-no in the running world.
After some research and advise from some friends I decided on the Brooks Pureflow

I can't wait to try them out and it's a BIG bonus that they're purple!
I'm also hoping to order some other "running gear" later this week. I am in desperate need of some new bras, wick clothing, and water bottle I can carry while running.

So what's your must have running gear?