New Kicks!

It was well-past time to buy new shoes.  I bought my last pair of shoes in NOVEMBER 2012, people.  Just since January I have put over 550 miles on them.  Wrong, wrong, wrong.  Some runners will tell you that you should change every 500 miles; some say 300.  Either way, I screwed up.

Yesterday I set out to rectify my mistake.  My store of choice is Second Sole because it is closest to my house and I have had wonderful, spiritual experiences every time I've gone there--no joke.  This time I brought my old shoes with me (my last rookie mistake was NOT bringing my old shoes), but I didn't bring my running socks to try on a new pair.  Duh.  I guess I thought that I would be getting the same shoes, just newer.  So, Dear Readers, you now have learned two lessons so far from my rookie shoe-buying mistakes: bring your shoes, and bring your socks.

Anyway, the store has a bin where you can borrow socks that approximate the thickness of your own socks, so it wasn't that big of a deal.  The "borrowing socks" were much better than my own socks, by the way.

The salesman asked me how many miles I'm putting in a week, and when told him 20-30, he responded, "Wow, that's a lot!"  Extra points for making me feel like a badass!  He took my shoes to the back and came back with these:

Saucony Guide 6

These were a size 10--a half-size larger than my regular Saucony size (which is still a half-size larger than some of my other shoes).  The salesman said, "I looked at the wear on your shoes, and I think they are too small for you in the toe box, especially for the amount of miles you are putting in.  Try these on, and we'll see if they are better for you."  Be still, my beating heart!  Did he actually analyze my old shoes?

Ok, here is a reality check.  When I looked at the Guide 6 reviews on Saucony's website, I noticed that the number one comment was that everyone had to go up a half-size.  I'm pretty sure the salesguy automatically brings everyone a half-size larger, but because I am a narcissist and an optimist, I am going to believe that he DID look at the wear on my shoes and think about my needs.  I love you, Second Sole.

I took my beautiful, bright shoes on the running path this morning for four hilly miles.  I was a little worried about the size because I felt that my old shoes would sometimes rub in the heel.  Notice the special ankle-lock tie on the left shoe.  The shoes felt lighter (the website says they are lighter), and they felt more cushiony and less stiff than my previous shoes.  They felt like I had already broken them in.  I didn't have any blisters or soreness during or after the run, so I'm going to tentatively say the Guide 6 is a win.  The real test will be the long run on Sunday.

What do you think of Saucony?  Have you tried the Guide 6?  Do you notice a difference from the Guide 5?

ALWAYS Pack Your Running Gear!

The title of this blog is the moral of the story, so I will repeat it up front:  ALWAYS pack your running gear.  Always.

This week was the family vacation in New York City.  We rented an apartment in Weehawken, New Jersey, which is an awesome town on the other side of the Lincoln Tunnel.  I could go on and on about how fabulous this location is, but I don't want you to find my secret apartment because then I'll never get in as cheaply as we did this year.

Anyway.  Before leaving, I debated about packing my running gear.  Is it worth the extra room in the suitcase?  I knew that I would be walking for miles and miles in the city each day, so I wondered whether I would be motivated enough to get up early and run.  Also, I wasn't familiar with the area where we stayed, so I didn't know if I would be safe running alone or not.  In the end, I decided that I didn't need to pack my running gear.

I am an idiot.

This is part of the running path that is DIRECTLY IN FRONT of my apartment.  On the river.  SMH.

Every day I woke up before my family and looked out at the myriad runners on that path, and every day I cursed myself.  As a result of my stupidity, I haven't run in nine days.  Never again.  I will always make room for my running gear.

Tomorrow I intend to punish myself on the run.  Tempo run, anyone?

I Have a Guardian Angel

When I was in my late twenties, my best friend Paige and I visited a psychic.

"You have a guardian angel," she said.  "Her name is Carol Anne."  Paige was taking notes for my session, and she immediately started writing, "Run to the light, Carol Anne!" while I tried to choke back my laughter.  "She's doesn't like Poltergeist jokes," the psychic said sternly, "and she's telling me that you spelled her name wrong."  Oops.

They're he-ere!

Let me say it loudly right now, "Thank you, Carol Anne!  Thank you soooo much!"  I will never use your name in the context of a cult horror film again because tonight you probably saved my life.

Jill and I were running my favorite 10-mile route; it is the former "Blue Line" run from the Akron Marathon, so-named because the runners follow a painted blue line on the road.

This is what the blue line run looks like in some parts of Akron.

Twenty seconds after we turned a corner, there was a t-bone car crash in the exact spot where we had previously run.  It was horrible.  Neither Jill nor I had a phone, but luckily a woman walking with her baby did have one, and after I promised to keep an eye on the baby, she called 911 and investigated the crash to give as much detail as possible.  I saw four of the victims; one was a small child, but she seemed to be ok.  The other victims looked horrible.  Within minutes many medical personnel stopped to help, and then the police and EMT's arrived.

When we realized that there was nothing more we could do (after telling arriving cars to turn around and go back), we decided to continue the run.  We had about six more miles to go.  My arms and legs were shaking, and no matter how much Jill and I tried to shake it off, my mind kept going back to the crash and the woman with the cell phone who said, "Twenty seconds slower, and you would have been right in that."

I am praying for those people tonight.  I am thanking Carol Anne, God, and any other forces in the Universe that pushed my ass a little faster down that blue line today.  I am a grateful runner.

Strip: Las Vegas, that is

I just returned from a six-day conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.  It was my first time in Vegas, and boy, was it enlightening!  I had two main concerns about my running in Vegas:

1.  I couldn't pack a bunch of running gear.  How would I get by on two bras, two pairs of socks, two shirts, and running shoes?



After some thought, I decided to try to wash my running clothes in the bathtub and hang them there.  Luckily for me, my roomie said this would not gross her out.  Just today I found out that there is a laundry soap (I think it's Tide) designed to hand wash in the sink.  Too bad--I used bath soap.  It worked ok; I was able to rinse out most of the horrible stink.  Problem #1 solved!



2.  I knew I would be keeping late hours (the conference usually started at 7 am and finished around 11 pm with networking activities), so how would I be able to work out on very little sleep?

This is exactly how I look after only 4 hours of sleep.

After the first night, I went to the gym at the Venetian and ran four miles on the treadmill.  I HATE the treadmill.  Then I had to complete part of the 30-day ab challenge.  The second day I did the elliptical, since I had never tried it before.  The elliptical is for coordinated people, so I had NO BUSINESS trying it.  The third day I ran on the Strip, and that was AWESOME!

The Bellagio

New York, New York

Excalibur

Looking down the Strip

After Day 3 of workouts, I was D.O.N.E.  I wanted to run the Strip again, but I was getting less than three hours of sleep a night.  Plus, I ditched the 30-day ab challenge, which means I have to start over on Monday.

Also, another interesting point:  While I was running the Strip, a bike policeman pulled up beside me and said, "You may not want to go as far and and hard as you usually do because you're probably not used to the smoke."  He was absolutely right.  Cigarette smoke is EVERYWHERE in Vegas.  Really, it's the only fault I can find with Las Vegas.

Today I  suffered for neglecting my workouts by running nine miles with the Turtles.  We had to run the Bike and Hike because the floods in our area shut down the Towpath.  There was no flooding in Vegas, btw.

I leave you with a tip I learned from fellow-Turtle Rosie today.  End a hot run with a washcloth soaked in ice and sprayed with aromatherapy spray.  Heaven!

Trail Running: It's a Mind-Game

This morning I "ran" five miles on a trail.  Last night I woke up several times from a nightmare in which I kept pulling ticks off my body.

This is EVEN WORSE than what I imagined in my nightmare.

I've never seen an actual tick, thank God, but I was scared to death that I would emerge from the high grasses of the trail covered in ticks.  I would prefer to be hunted by velociraptors.

Which of these images was worse for you?  EXACTLY.

Everyone in my running group knows that I do NOT like trail running for the following reasons:

1.  Ticks--isn't  that reason enough?
2.  Exposed roots--the scabs from my last fall are finally gone, but the scars remain in my psyche. . .and on my knees.
3.  Hills and steps.

Because of reasons #2 and #3 trail running makes me feel old and demoralized.  I'm afraid I'll twist an ankle coming down a hill. . . and that makes me feel old.  I have to stop running and walk the steps. . .and that makes me feel demoralized.  I don't want to feel this way; I want to feel like a badass.

Today I approached the trail with a new attitude:  I am not going for a run; I am going for a HIKE.  Hikers can walk when they want.  Hikers don't have to pace.  If I run a little bit during my HIKE, so much the better.  This seems silly, but it was exactly the mind-game I needed to play with myself to approach this trail with any sort of optimism, and it totally worked.

I even ran (I mean HIKED) the trail without music.

If I had emerged from the tall grass with even one little tick, this would have been a VERY different post.

Singin' in the Rain

Today I ran four miles in the rain.  When I got up this morning, I heard the familiar pitter-patter of the rain falling on the roof, and instead of crawling back into bed (tempting), I dug out my baseball cap and got to it.  No thunder = still gonna run.

This is EXACTLY how I look when I'm running in the rain.  Damn, I'm sexy!

I like running in all kinds of rain, from this morning's drizzle to the torrential downpour I  experienced during the multi-club practice run for the Akron Half Marathon last September.  I especially liked the rain this morning because it was a great relief from the oppressive humidity we've been experiencing in North East Ohio.

This is EXACTLY how I look when I run in the humidity.

It took me a while to figure out that rain doesn't make any difference in whether I run or not.  I run.  After being caught in a few storms, I realized that I was going to be wet, no matter what.  The important thing is to relax into the rain.  Hunching your shoulders will not prevent you from getting wet.  A ball cap helps, but your face is going to get wet, too.

Most importantly, get in touch with your inner child when it rains.  Laugh.  Skip.  Jump.  Dance.  Splash.  It won't make you any wetter than you are.  You are surrounded by water.  Make the most of it.

This is EXACTLY how I look when I discover my inner child.  I'm cute, right?

Review: Healthy Oatmeal

The Towpath Turtles are past the base-building section of their training season.  This means that there will be miles, many more miles.  Recently (the night before the Jim Klett 10k) one of the Turtles posted a question about pre-run fuel to the whole group.  The responses ran the gamut of fuel choices, but the answer that intrigues me the most is oatmeal.

Do you get the symbolism here?  Are you sure?

I like oatmeal.  I do.  I just never eat oatmeal, but I always think I should.  I know that in theory oatmeal is super-healthy for me, but I can't help wonder how many extra calories I add to it in my toppings.  The answer to my dilemma:  Healthy Oatmeal/ myoatmeal.com.    The website is user-friendly in the way it allows you to choose exactly what kind of oatmeal you like.  There are so many choices: oats, flavoring, fruit, nuts, sweetener.  I chose Banana Bread flavor with brown cane sugar, crystallized ginger, and pecans.

Because I didn't choose an instant oats grain, the preparation takes a few minutes longer than pouring cereal, but really, the whole process doesn't take more than nine minutes.  I have to say that the oatmeal smelled fantastic as I cooked it, and it tasted just as good.  The dry oatmeal smelled strongly of banana bread with hints of ginger, but the taste was more subtle.  I would say the strongest taste was of the brown sugar and pecans.  I still liked it.

The oatmeal, if you prepare it with water, is only 156 calories a serving, which is pretty good not only for breakfast but for a snack later in the day (I sometimes get the 3:00 grumbles).   I would say the calorie and nutrition information is one of the most appealing aspects of this Healthy Oatmeal.      I definitely need to rely on measurements to portion my food because my eyes are bigger than my stomach (and my stomach is pretty big).  I know that I can prepare this oatmeal for a nice treat, and it will stop me from opening the ice cream container.  Probably.

My next two tests with this oatmeal will be as granola and as Mason-jar breakfasts.

Great.  Now I have to buy Mason jars.

Note:  Myoatmeal.com sent me the oatmeal in exchange for a review.  I only paid for shipping.  Believe me, if I didn't like the oatmeal, I would have said so.  Do you think I can be bought for oatmeal?  Heck no!  Beer. . . maybe.