Back in the Groove

When I was training for my half marathon, at this time last year, I was running at least 6 miles a day and I loved it. Over the summer though, I slacked off. I am finally back in the groove where running 6 miles feels easy and I hope that I have the time to run more each day. This weekend I ran 9 miles one day, 7 the next and this morning I woke up at 4am to run another 7. I feel that following or preceding my runs with a kickboxing class helps my endurance, stamina and flexibility. It strengthens the muscles in my body in different ways then running does, which I think helps prevent injury. I have found that this time around I have much more internal motivation. I think a lot of this stems from the fact that I have already done this. I know in my mind that I am perfectly capable of completing this and pushing past it for a full marathon. I am planning on running an 18 mile race before the full in October though, just to get that mental 3/4 (ish) mark.
This weekend I finally purchased a new pair of running sneakers. Unfortunately they are being ordered and will not be in for another few days. But I figure that I have already waited this long, what is another few days. I stuck to the tried and true,Saucony Guide 3  The problem was they only had them in Blue. My old ones are blue and I wanted to change it up with some pink. Hopefully they will be in soon and I will be running in comfort and style in no time :)