My Running Wish List and My Achin' Shins...

Seven and a half years of living on one income, so that I can stay home with our two kids, doesn't exactly make you rich.  Don't get me wrong, it's been worth it.  But, I can't lie, there's definitely things that I really want and just can't have right now.  That's just the trade-off.  And, now that I've gotten back into running, there's all kinds of things that I want.  Sometimes it makes me feel better to make a list of the things that I want and can not currently have.  You know, just put them out of my brain and into the universe in hopes that I won't feel like I want them quite as badly any more.  Sounds like shaky logic, but I'm still willing to give it a try.  So, here's my very own Running Wish List:

1. A Garmin - I think I've mentioned that I think of myself as the last runner on earth without one.  (I know--boo hoo, wah, wah, wah.  This is fun already, right?)
2. A Treadmill - Yeah, this is a pretty big long shot item, but it would be totally awesome to be able to go for a run right here in my own house, anytime I wanted to.  Check out the shear joy of receiving your very own treadmill HERE, when The Hungry Runner Girl received one from her husband for her birthday.  So cool!!
3. A Camelback - I just read about how Jim from 50...after 40 uses one of these for pretty much all of his longer runs.  So smart.  You don't have to worry about planting water in a bush or circling back to your car or any of that nonsense.  You just have the water right there with you for the whole run!  Genius!
4. Body Glide - Okay, I could probably pony up the $6.99 it costs to buy a stick of Body Glide, but it's my wish list and I'm puttin' EVERYTHING on it.
5. A Gait Analysis - I would love for someone knowledgable on the subject to take a look at my form and give me some pointers on how I could improve it.  I'm thinking it's quite possible that one of my legs is significantly shorter than the other.  That, or one boob is weighing me down more than the other.
6. Some new sports bras - (Speaking of boobs.)  I realize now that the sports bras I have are complete overkill in the compression/support department.  Yeah, after nursing two kids for a combined two and a half years, the ol' girls just ain't what they used to be.  So, believe it or not, I'd like to try something with LESS support.  I'm starting to worry that they're going to get compressed into something even smaller...
7. Some good running tanks -  I do prefer a tank over a t-shirt when I run.  But, my 100% cotton Old Navy tank tops don't exactly qualify as good running apparel.  Not exactly moisture wicking.  I pretty much look like I dumped a bunch of water down my chest by the time I'm done running, and a cotton tank top can only get sweat in so many times before it just smells permanently nasty.
8. More than one pair of running shoes - Yes, I'll admit it, I'm getting jealous of all you runners who have like 15 pairs (I'm exaggerating) of running shoes.  It would be so fun to try out a bunch of different kinds of running shoes! 

Alright, now the list is starting to get a little self-indulgent, so I'll stop.

What's on your Running Wish List?
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Okay, so as the title of the post eludes to, my shins have started bothering me.  During the last few treadmill runs they've been really achy, and today when I was running behind my son who was riding his bike they were really really achy.  Hmmmm...poo.  Could this be the beginning of an actual running injury??  I sure as heck hope not.  I feel like I'm just starting to really get going on this running thing.  So, of course, I googled 'shin splint prevention' and came up with some good videos of some excercises to do to help prevent shin splints (which is, apparently, a pretty broad term applicable to any sort of pain in the shin area).  I did them IMMEDIATELY, in hopes that I'm catching this early...

(Insert cool video of heel walking and big toe raises from Runner's World here.  Apparently, I am not technologically savvy enough to figure out how to imbed the video on my blog.  After about 15 minutes of failed attempts, I gave up in a huff.)

So, what do you think?  Any advice on this issue?  Should I be taking it easy or laying off the treadmill for a bit? (By the way, I really want the answer to this to be NO.)
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And, before I take my sleepy self to bed I'm wondering if you've ever been THIS tired??

I'd gotten my little guy a bath, wrapped him up in a towel, laid out his PJ's for him to put on and then went to get my daughter started on her bath.  I came back a few minutes later to find him crashed out, still in his towel.  Funny enough, this is NOT the first time this has happened!  When he's ready to sleep, he's ready to sleep!  I came in and snapped a few photos, flash and all, and he never even moved.  My husband came home from work and got him dressed in his PJ's and tucked him into bed, and he still never woke up!

Seriously sleepy...

Also, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY MOMMY!!  She is one year older, and 27 pounds lighter today than she was on this day last year!  I've promised to do a before/after post on my mom soon...