Nece, quick note:

I'm SO proud of you. I loved it when I moved up to higher mileage, and you will see even more results. The swollen finger thing? Well, kind of the nature of the beast...after longer runs, my rings are imbedded into my seemingly-sausage fingers (I'm serious). Just make sure you are getting PLENTY of fluids, including Gatorade to replace the electrolytes...especially when it's cooler and you don't feel as thirsty. Keep up the good work! (BTW, you had me in stitches w/the Josie reminiscence! Oh, and she got on her friend's team...yay...)