what to wear, what to wear...

No, I'm actually not talking about attire for a change, be it running/race/marathon apparel or "dress to impress" apparel.  Nope, I'm actually talking about running shoes...figure while I'm still 2 months out, I can ponder what shoes to wear on marathon day.

So in my first 2 marathons, I wore my regular trainers (Asics Cumulus 7 in 2006 and the Cumulus 9s) in 2008.  I do have a pair of lightweight "performance" shoes, which I use specifically for speedwork and races-up to the half-marathon distance and I love them (so much that I just got another pair, even though they got discontinued last year!)  But...I'm sorta thinking about wearing those on marathon day...

So without further ado, here are the contenders:

In this corner, weighing 9.1 ounces...the Brooks Defyance 2-my "everyday" trainer (which I do love as well!)
And in the other corner, weighing 7.6 ounces...the Asics DS-Trainer 13-my lightweight "performance" shoe

So I'd love some input from the masses...providing I do a 20-miler in them and it goes OK, is a lightweight shoe like the DS-Trainers OK for the marathon distance?  Or is it better to be safe and stick with the regular trainers, as the marathon distance would require a more substantial shoe?  I have a lofty time goal in mind for MCM, as you all know, so it may mean taking some chances (within reason, of course.)  Any words of advice one way or the other greatly appreciated...I'm sure there are quite a few of you out there who have more experience with this than I do!!

And I looked at my mileage for August...holy sh*t, I ran 198 miles in August!!  (to be fair, there were 5 weekends instead of 4, meaning 5 long runs.)  If I had run on Monday, I could have gone over 200 miles for August...but I scrapped a run (but moved it to Tuesday) in favor of a yoga class-as my bod desperately needed the stretching and the quads were still feeling last week's race and the 20-miler a little bit...so decided to listen to my body instead of chasing a number which...how significant really is it?  Either way, still my highest monthly mileage total ever...

acclimating

With great, yet late nites on friday and saturday...I knew morning runs were not on the agenda this weekend :). But that's quite alright...gotta continue my efforts to get used to the heat...I mean the method to my madness worked last year, right?

Lucky 13 great miles on the west side hwy yesterday...and I swear I am liking these Brooks Defyances more and more every time I wear them. If I were to keep with the dating theme...its like the guy that you just take a chance on...and it works for you better than you ever expected. Getting away from that, I just think I may have found my perfect shoe for MCM!

Followed that up with some easy, shady bridle path miles today to get me to 30 this week! With the exception of next week ("tapering" for the Mini 10K)-i hope to keep that up until its go time on June 22nd...

In other news, I discovered that no taxicabs like going from the UES to the UWS at around 5 pm on a saturday. That damn east side-west side rivalry I guess. Well cabbies, no fare for you. :-P

And I am writing this post on my latest tech toy...ditched the Treo and picked up a brand-spanking new BlackBerry Curve-and already I can say its a huge upgrade.

And closing out the weekend by helping a certain crazy bandanahead celebrate his b-day... ;-)

"fun run" vs. "fun" run

Ahhhh what a difference 20-something degrees can make:
last Sunday-80-something degree hilly 13.1 mile "fun run"=torture.
yesterday-60 degree flat 11 mile "fun" run=awesome.

the unseasonable heat finally broke later in the week, however bringing rain with it. yesterday I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to get a long run in...however after sleeping off my share of martini consumption from the previous night, I saw a window where I could get my run in and just went for it.

And what a 180 it was from the previous weekend...where I was struggling to maintain 9:15-9:30s. Maybe it was the cool weather, maybe it was the flat surface of the West Side Highway path, maybe it was the music on the iPod, maybe it was the bouncy new-shoe feel of my last pair of Cumulus 9's on their 3rd run, but I was just clicking off very consistent 8:4x miles for the bulk of the run, without really pushing at all...just felt very smooth. Don't plan on this being a habit...but hey I'll take a good run where I can get it. Running can be heartbreaking like that, I don't know if my next run will repeat the torture of last weekend or something like that...

And on the topic of last weekend's "fun run"...there was lotsa heated discussion about that during the week...which included, but was not limited to...
If it was co-ed, would it still have been canceled? Uh...anyone remember Chicago 2007? (not to mention all the snowy, icy co-ed NYRR races that were made into fun runs...even distances as short as 4 miles!)
There was no notice...ok, I'll give em that. As I said before, I think that as soon as the heat advisories went up, there should have been some notice that there could be heat-related adjustments to the race...live and learn.
NYRR should give them spots in the NYC marathon to "make up" for it...um...apples and oranges there.
Bottom line was that this was a "you're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't situation" for NYRR. Yeah, there were (understandably) a lot of upset women-but I'm sure that if the show still went on and if, god forbid, a runner died or something else due to the heat-NYRR would have been chastized for not making it a fun run. Hindsight is always 20/20....

Changing the topic a little-I got new shoes yesterday!! The Brooks Defyance 2, which will hopefully, hopefully be the perfect replacement for my beloved Asics Cumulus 9s...as I am on my last pair and both the 10s and the brand-spankin' new 11's are a no-go. (Anyone else feel that Asics have made the heel units on their trainers a little too...busy or something?) With MCM training starting near the end of June, I want to get the shoe situation squared away long before then. And I give a big thumbs-up to the new JackRabbit store on the Upper East Side...the person who helped me was great, helped me try on several pairs and come to an educated decision...was between the Defyance and the Mizuno Wave Rider 12s, but the Brooks just won out by a hair (was that close!) Now I just need a dry day this week to try out the new shoes on the road....

day 1: done!

Well this marathon training season started off rather uneventfully. Approx 7 miles last nite with the downtown crew-first run I've done with these guys in awhile (either usually recovering from something or had some kinda conflict on Monday or there were thunderstorms.) Rained a bit before the run, but stopped just as we were getting started. Wanting to save my legs for more quality workouts this week, I didn't go with the rabbits and instead stuck with the "easy does it" peeps. Kept a nice, consistent 10 minute pace-well except for one mile where Mr. Garmin went flukey and said it was 8:02 and that I hit a max pace of negative 0:44 per mile...um yeah, right. All the "funny stuff" in the world wouldn't make that happen. Heart rate averaged around 130, which is actually really low for an easy run!! Well, I guess this means I didn't trash my body and it'll be good to go for the rest of this week!! :)

And yesterday, I unfortunately noted one downfall to my fave running store in the city...no refunds. I brought back my Cumulus 10s yesterday, hoping for a refund but unfortunately got a store credit. Yeah, I'm sure I'll use it eventually, but considering right now, I'm gonna have to drop some cash to snatch up a coupla pairs of the Cumulus 9's, it would have come in handy right now. What can you do...

The Olympic trials are seriously messing with my sleep schedule!! Thank god they are not on tonite, and that I am off from work on Thursday and Friday and can sleep in!! Yesterday was definitely an exciting day in track and field...

• A "come from behind" sprint in the last 200 yards of the mens 800m for Nick Symmonds and Andrew Wheating to finish first and second...and third place-and the final Beijing spot-decided literally by a crash to the line.
• The women's 800m, the 3rd Beijing spot coming down to who could get the A standard...the third place finisher didn't have it, so the 4th place finisher got it-and she may not have even made the final had there not been a protest after the crash in the semis...
• The possiblity of the decathlon AR being broken in the trials...came down to the last event-so close!! Will it fall in China?

But-was not too thrilled about the coverage of the womens 5K semis and mens 5K final being interrupted for the field events...but I guess I do understand that not everyone finds watching running in circles as exciting as I do, and may prefer the field events. But it doesn't mean that the breakaways weren't poorly timed...like for example, they cut away when Jen Rhines took the lead near the end!! (did they take a cue from the 2006 NYCM coverage?)

But man...if this is any indication, I am gonna be useless during the Olympics if a lot of these things are being shown late at nite (on tape delay of course!) And it's gonna be sooo tough to avoid spoilers...

the never-ending shoe saga

oy vey...here we go again.

So I decided to take the brand-spankin new Cumulus 10s for a 5-mile test run this morning. I really wanted to love these shoes. Would make (running) life so much easier, right?

But no...didn't fall in love with them like I did with the 9's. Didn't really feel as responsive, felt a little heavier. But then again, that could have been my legs...even though I took yesterday off, it's possible my legs still felt some tiredness from Tuesday's workout...or maybe I was tired from all my wine consumption last nite :)

So, I wonder...do I give these one more chance? Or take them back to the store and start stockpiling the 9's? Sorta leaning towards the latter...but man, I hate being dependent on a discontinued shoe!!

(And obviously the person at JackRabbit who helped me was new and I guess misinformed...according to her, nothing really changes with shoe model numbers and if one felt good, the upgrade should too. Um...yeah. What you said.)

bridges and arches-and celeb sightings too!!

This past Saturday, I participated in a annual Flyers tradtion-the "Bridges and Arches run"-an 8 mile jaunt over bridges, under arches, and discovering many hills that should probably stay undiscovered :) I was tapped to be one of the "shephards"-cute name for one of the run leaders :) I had done that 2 years ago and was glad to do it again! This is definitely one of my favorite runs and I was a little disappointed to have missed it last year when I was in San Francisco. And if the run wasn't exciting enough, while at brunch we had a celeb sighting!! Check it out in the picture below :)

So...this run was the longest run of a 28-mile week (which also included 2 yoga classes and a spin class.) I will say though...the legs did feel tired by today!! Hope that is not a taste of things to come as marathon training begins one week from tomorrow!! In prep for that, I got new shoes...figured this week is as good as any to road-test the Asics Cumulus 10s...see if they feel as good on the roads as they did during the treadmill test run-or if I will need to stockpile several pairs of the 9's. Better to know before training starts, right?

Non-running stuff in the last few days included...

• happy hour with the coworkers at Red Sky Friday nite to welcome the summer interns-oh, and an excuse for an open bar too...
• saw Altar Boyz today-absolutely hysterical. Go see it if you already haven't. If you like boy bands-and/or mocking boy bands-you'll like this :)
• Jury duty is over with, done with, won't be buggering me for 6 years!! Came thisclose to getting picked for a case though...guess I said the right thing to not get picked! :)

One more week to go before it's time to get to work...man, it's so so close!! Though can the weather gods please spare NYC of the constant thunderstorms? :)

chase a guy, any guy!!

OK-after tonite's workout, I am forbidden from running after guys in the first repeat of any workout. And here's why...

Repeat number	Time	Pace	Comment
1	3:28	6:56	wowza!! was this really a half-mile?
2	3:42	7:24	ok-that seems more realistic
3	3:45	7:30	still on target...
4	3:50	7:40	i'm paying for that first repeat.
5	3:39	7:18	last one...give it all you got!

For reference sake-the workout was 5 x a half-mile...target around 7:30ish pace. What happened in the first repeat? Well-everyone started at once...and I think some of the faster runners "sucked me in" for at least the first minute...and well, it just happened that most of them were guys, so it probably looked like I was chasing the guys :-p I looked at my watch at the end of that repeat and was in disbelief-and hoped it wouldn't bite me in the a$$ later...and as you see, it did for repeat #4...

But-on the other hand, that was the first time ever that I have ever done a half-mile in a workout at a sub-7 pace...and I was still able to kick it in at the end so not all was lost.

But honestly-it wouldn't have been the first time i'd be "chasing guys" in the first repeat :) I remember one or two Tuesday morning workouts with the 6 am crew, where I was clearly letting the guys pull me along, and the group leader even had to warn me to pull back. I guess some things will never change!! :-)

And today was the maiden voyage for my brand-spankin new DS-Trainer 13s...were sitting patiently in the box for 3 1/2 months and finally got used today!! And I like em. I like em a lot. :-) Asics has been forgiven for messing up on the DS-Trainer 12s. Hey who knows, it could've been the shoes today as well...

oh asics...not again!!

so I'm surfing the various running message boards and came across a post previewing what Asics was gonna be debuting in a couple months...I had to check it out, as my lovely Cumulus 9's are-unfortunately-due for an upgrade. Should I be concerned?

Well...here is a pic of the Cumulus 10:



And here is a pic of my current cumulus 9s:














I will admit I like the red-white-black color scheme...Flyers colors!! But honestly-it looks like a completely different shoe!! Methinks I may have to be stockpiling the 9's shortly. And just when I thought I found the perfect shoe!! Goes changing on me (don't get me started again with the running shoes/dating analogy...)

first in line

today I went to JackRabbit to do a little bit of shopping...and found out they had just gotten the new Asics DS-Trainer 13's (so brand-spankin new that they aren't on Asics' website yet!) in that morning-and if I came back in a coupla hours I'd be able to try them on. Perfect, I had other shopping to do around Union Square. So I was back, probably first in line to try em on :)

I was really hoping these would feel OK, after absolutely loving the DS-Trainer 11's...the fit of the 12s didn't quite work for me. Last year I was still able to find 11's, but now I can't so it was time to upgrade. And thank god-these did feel good. The heel was able to accomodate my orthotics (the 12s couldn't-they were too narrow) and they felt OK on the treadmill-next will be to try em out on the road. Only strange thing was that I really had to size up in these-needed a 9 1/2 (to put in perspective-I take an 8 in the Cumulus 9's, and an 8 1/2 in the DS-Trainer 11's.)

And I can't seem to escape orange, right? As my 11's were orange too...but these look snazzy. Nice little "XMas" present to myself :)

And on the topic of XMas-merry Christmas to all of you who celebrate!!

cumulus (cloud) 9

Thank god!! No longer do I need to scour the Internet to find a pair of shoes that have been discontinued a year ago!!

I had heard that JackRabbit had the new Asics Cumulus 9's in early (today was the official release date to certain stores) so I couldn't resist making a stop there over the weekend and trying them on...unlike the 8's, I liked these from the minute I put them on, and they looked fine on the treadmill.

Tried them out last night for a 6 miler with the "downtown" group run (an out-and-back along the West Side Highway)-and they have officially replaced the 7's as being the perfect trainer. I give this upgrade a thumbs up-they feel lighter and more responsive, but substantial enough for everyday use. (And they look pretty good too!)

So Asics has been redeemed for now...well as long as my DS-Trainer 11's last. Actually I'll say-those shoes have quite a bit of staying power. Almost a year and 175 miles on them, and they handled a killer workout on the 91st street hill tonight (16 round trips, done at a sub-8 pace...nice!) just as well as they handled the first workout. And I still have another pair that have not been touched yet...

renewal, rebirth, reboot, re-something

last nite was the annual Flyers' Chinese New Year dinner. with that, was my first speedwork attempt since late September. I don't know if it was the glorious mid-40s shorts weather (which quite a few thought I was crazy for wearing shorts,) or lacing up my beloved Asics DS-Trainer 11s (more on those below) for the first time in awhile, but it actually felt better than the mindless miles i've been slogging out recently. of course, i'm too much of a competitive biatch to say i was really satisfied (being that i was way behind those i used to beat), but i survived. last night's method of torture was "300 meter" (my split times-ranging between 1:09 and 1:20-said there was no way it was a full 300 meters) repeats as hard as possible (read: a positive splits workout), recover fully back (i made sure i jogged those babies...one mistake i used to make was doing recoveries too fast) and repeat and repeat until the coaches said when (turned out to be 12 round trips for me.)

then was the dinner part...this year was packed to capacity!! lots of friends, Flyers, food and sake (ok that part didn't exactly fit :-p) we were all gifted at the end with the red envelopes in the picture above that included, among other things, a lottery ticket for last night's lottery. I didn't have a winning ticket, but i just had to laugh when I saw last night's numbers...who can guess the significance of 2 of those numbers to me? As for the fortune, I didn't like my first one, so I took a second one, which is the one you see above. did it come true? I did get an encouraging email about a certain something today...hmmm, maybe there is something to those cookies.

tonight I decided to take advantage of yet another shorts weather night and joined the Flyers group run...ran with NSA but for reasons I will not go into here, it was a "it-was-asposed-to-be-a-recovery-run-but-wanted-to-get-it-the-hell-over-with-ASAP." Well, I'm giving myself 2 days recovery before the Snowflake 4-miler Saturday. I'm obviously not expecting to break any speed records, just wanna support the team for the points race, and possibly begin my defense of my Frequent Flyer award. Besides, now that we know what the course for the race is, I'm more curious to see how many people are going to complain about racing on the 72nd Street Transverse while it is still chopped up.

*************************************

If any of you are in love with the DS-Trainer 11's like I am, be careful if you decide to buy the 12's before trying them on. Completely different shoe. I had to size up a half size because the arch was in a different place, the heel was way too narrow, my orthotics didn't quite fit...thank god JackRabbit still had the 11's in my size in stock. Guess I'll be hitting the Internet for my next pair of 11's when I need them...awww Asics, between the Cumulus 7's and now this, you're breaking my heart!

*************************************

This is how cynical I have become. One of the guys I met Sunday night (actually the one I liked the most) called me last night (got my voicemail) and said something along the lines of "this may be last-minute, but I was wondering if you wanted to get a drink tonight or something" (obviously I couldn't because I had other plans) I should be happy, but instead I am wondering "why did he call me last-minute? Did he have other plans that fell through and I'm just sloppy seconds?" Yes, I have been played too many times that I can't believe that there is no ulterior motive. Or something.

************************************

Good part of email being down all day yesterday at work: certain clients that constantly bugger me via email cannot do said buggering.

Bad part of email being down all day yesterday at work: Catch-up!

now playing: "ooh la la" ~ goldfrapp

pre-taper madness

yeesh, it's already grabbing a hold of me. and of course, the way i dealt with it was by shopping.

First, the other day I cleaned out my local GNC when I saw they had almost a box full of Plain Energy flavor PowerGel-since it's one of the newer flavors, it seems like it's tougher to find... (and yeah, I decided during the training cycle to switch gels. I like the new thinner texture of the PowerGels and that they have more sodium, and the new plain flavor, and I can't seem choke down the E-Gels any more without gagging-too thick...)

Then last night was another 20% off shopping night at JackRabbit Sports for the Flyers. The damage? A new pair of shoes (I got the white/silver/lime pair) that will hopefully replace my Cumuluses when they're shot, a new watch (because my current one is 2 1/2 years old, it's a Nike one and I've heard that its a pain to get the battery replaced, I wanted a watch with more laps and I'm paranoid that it's going to break down in the next 2 weeks or even worse, during the marathon) and a cool pair of not marathon-perfect, but half-marathon (or training)-perfect shorts. I think I needed to be cut off by the end of the night or something.

Oh-and I'm also obsessively checking the NYCM entrant database to see if the bib numbers have been posted yet.

Damn, I expect to be quite a character during the next 3 weeks. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

sampling the goods

3 easy miles today, and got to use a couple of my recent purchases...

• Started the new white/purple pair of the Cumuluses into the rotation. Love that bouncy new-shoe feel. Here's a question I'm throwing out to the crowd. What's the minimum amount of mileage you'd recommend on a pair of shoes that I'd be running the marathon in? (obviously, it's a model that I've worn before, and I will be doing at least one long run in them.)
• My new MarathonGirl skirt. I actually like running in this one better than the GymGirl! Was afraid of chafing, but applying BodyGlide beforehand took care of that :) Was actually very comfortable, nothing too revealing...what a difference proper sizing makes. And comes with a pocket on the side to keep keys/ID/money. (For those in the NYC area who don't want to buy online, they sell the skirts now at the Running Company in the Time Warner Center-but limited selection, I only saw the Marathon Girl skirts in Black and Blue Hawaii.)
• oh and speaking of goods, 72nd street between Columbus and Amsterdam can be so deliciously tempting. Buttercup Bake Shop (best.cupcakes.ever.) on the north side of the street. Cold Stone Creamery on the south side of the street. Yum. And simultaneously, yikes!!

34 miles on tap for this week. the build-up continues...

now playing: "you give me something (full intention mix)" ~ jamiroquai

shoe upgrades suck

no better way to put it.

there's a saying that goes "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." someone forgot to tell the running shoe companies that.

yeah, the infamous shoe search. i actually am very pleased with the Asics Cumulus 7's that I had bought back in April-I don't think I've been this happy with a trainer in a very long time. Unfortunately I had bought them a month before Asics came out with the upgrade. Right now, the mileage on these shoes is pushing 300, so I figure I needed a game plan in terms of what to wear for the remainder of the training cycle. I thought the best thing to do was work a new pair into the rotation now, and then break in a 2nd pair in early October and run the marathon in those shoes.

So back to JackRabbit I went to check out the Cumulus 8's. They felt fine, but when running on the treadmill, there apparently was some late-stage pronation that wasn't there when I ran in the 7's (I wore my orthotics in both.) So the salesperson brought out something that she said was similar-Brooks Axiom 2. I was a little suspicious because I thought I remembered someone saying that was more of a lightweight trainer and she said "no it's more in line with the Cumulus." Anyway, it felt fine running in them, no pronation. So I decided to give those a shot.

I got home and did a little Internet research...and just as I thought, the Axioms are more in line with shoes like the DS-Trainers. Shit. I should never have been sold these shoes. They have to go back. (And normally, JackRabbit has great service-but this particular saleperson was not quite up to speed.)

So here I am, no closer to a shoe solution. So, my faithful readers, do you recommend that I continue the search, or find a site online that still carries the Cumulus 7's and get 2 pairs of them to last me through the marathon? (And if anyone knows of a site that carries the Cumulus 7's in a women's size 8-please let me know!! I'd be everso appreciative. My usual haunts either don't have the 7's or don't have my size.)

Got in a 3.2 mile run tonite to bring me to a little over 30 miles this week. 32 on tap for next week, and I'll thankfully have plenty of company for my long run, as I'll be helping pace lead during NYRR's Long Training Run. I've done this the last 2 years and it's fun (and I'm actually not too bad at keeping the pace!) Then the following week my long run gets scaled back a little bit. I just need to beat the heat this week...I have a feeling I will be doing morning workouts this week.

Other randomly scattered thoughts:

• Another blogger meetup!! I met the very nice Jay T while he was in the city today on a little bike excursion-we met up to grab a bite to eat and chatted for a bit about things like blogging, work, running, and oh, all of you :-p
• How we know MySpace is taking over the world (or at least the Internet world)-a movie's "official" site is a MySpace site.
• It's summertime. It's hot. ConEd really needs to get with the program already. In addition to the power probs in Queens and Staten Island the last coupla weeks, my office building had issues on Friday-the main floor was having power problems and they were asking all the other floors to conserve power, so our office manager turned off all the overhead lights. I couldn't work with just light from my computer, so I just worked from home the rest of the day. With another scorcher week coming up, I wouldn't be surprised to see this happening again... (i know this is child's play compared to what happened in Queens, but still annoying all the same.)

that's all for now folks...another loverly workweek awaits.

now playing: "every day is a winding road" ~ sheryl crow

a new (shoe) love

sorry, Mizuno Wave Precision 5's. you will always be my first love. but i have to let you go. i've found someone new. you may be gone, but you will never be forgotten...

i guess you can tell from that, that my first run report in the DS-Trainers will be a good one. It's a great one. Very reminiscent of my first couple of runs in the Wave Precisions. The shoe felt great-light and very responsive-I almost had to hold myself back on my warm-up and cool-down jogs. With my orthotics in them, I felt like there was enough stability-didn't feel wobbly like the Speedstars did. The toughest part will just be the willpower of limiting them to speedwork and short races, but I can tell myself that it'll all be worth it in the long run...and they'll last longer, won't have to buy them as often...

So armed with those flashy orange shoes, was I ready to take on Cat Hill? hells yeah!! workout tonight was 8 repeats with recoveries-didn't cover the entire hill though, i think we only did about .19 mile of it.

splits 1:15/1:21/1:24/1:26/1:25/1:26/1:27/1:24

whoa!! i didn't really look at my watch until the end...man, did i really rabbit that first repeat. don't know if it was the shoes making me feel good, or if i'm always gonna do the first repeat that much harder than the others. Eventually, settled into a consistent pace for the repeats, then tried to pick it up for the last one. This felt loads better than the last time I did Cat Hill in speedwork. (well, my legs felt better. i never like the heavy breathing that short, intense repeats cause. and unlike last time, i didn't feel like yelling back at the coaches :-p)

so, i'm hopeful for saturday, as long as i take it easy the remainder of the week. preliminary weather reports look better than last year-fingers crossed!!

now playing: "these words (lenny b extended mix)" ~ natasha bedingfield

separated at "birth"?

i know this kind of thing tends to be done more with people than inanimate objects, but i couldn't resist this one. and i think runners would appreciate this:

The über high-end Asics Gel Kinsei shoes (note the gel on the outside of the shoe heel)



and the latest trend in energy food, Clif Shot Bloks.







and my running friends, this is where the $165 goes :-p

can't escape orange

as i mentioned here, i was having second thoughts about the Speedstars-I think they actually felt a little too flat and I needed something with a little more stability (ain't that the truth.)

So back to JackRabbit I went, and this time tried on the Asics DS-Trainer XI, which I think may actually do the trick this time.

But man oh man...I can't seem to escape orange shoes these days, can I? :) though the floor model was a white/purple color, the DS-Trainers had just gotten a color update this week...but honestly, I think this color combo looks "faster," more like a racing shoe, than the white/purple one did.

I will be trying these out on Tuesday at speedwork and will give a report then, of course...

now playing: "ready for the good times" ~ shakira

i'm a speedstar

so i tried out a new pair of lightweight trainers for tonite's speed workout...

i've been wanting to get a new pair for awhile...but unlike what i did with my old Mizuno Wave Precision 5's (doing all training in them), I would restrict usage to speed workouts, and races 10K or shorter. My Cumuluses are great for training runs and worked well for the Queens half but feel a little too heavy when trying to push hard in speed workouts and shorter races. (But of course, if I'm feeling banged up at all, I'll retreat back to the Cumuluses.)

So I tried on 2 pairs...the Asics Gel-Speedstar and the Mizuno Wave Precision 6. Though I used to love the Mizunos, they just don't seem to fit me the same these days...the 8 1/2 is too small, and the 9 is too big in the heel, even with lace-locking (seems to be the case with all Mizunos these days.) The Asics in the 8 1/2 fit just right with my orthotics. (Plus even though you don't buy shoes for looks, they look pretty damn sleek.)

Tonite's workout was 9 repeats of the hill up to Tavern on the Green-perfect timing, as that's the finish of the Mini 10K. The repeats started further back...around the exit to Columbus Circle (486 meters, we were told!!)

Splits-2:07/2:14/2:17/2:22/2:19/2:07/2:12/2:17/2:13

It was hot and muggy-I stopped for water during the recoveries after the 3rd and 8th repeat, but the actual hard running didn't feel too affected. However, the 2:22 and 2:19 repeats were slowed by the road being very crowded and me having to dodge others. (Tuesday nites, the park is *packed* since a lot of teams are out doing speedwork.) And during the second 2:07 repeat, I had seen one of our speedy guys out for a run, and he was nice enough to pace me for the remainder of that repeat...guess I do my best when chasing after guys! :)

As for the shoes, it was sorta strange wearing lightweight shoes again, but I felt a lot more "efficient" during this workout. Might need one more run in them to completely make up my mind.

now playing: "don't wanna lose this groove" ~ dannii minogue vs. madonna

twas a sad day for the department

so yesterday morning, we got an email from our boss...the news she told was something i was surprised to hear, but at the same time, not at all surprised-one of the other people in our group had submitted his resignation. (this is the miami one, my good pal.) was a very sad day for our department-we really lost someone valuable, IMHO. someone who will be very tough to replace-professionally and personally. and I can't say I blame him one bit for his decision.

and unfortunately, that wasn't even the worst part of the day for me...just had the day from hell at work...discovered a mistake on one of my jobs that i had to do some damage control on, not to mention annoying clients who need things ASAP and just will not let up with the requests and think things just happen with another push of the button. (plus other stuff going on, which i'm not mentioning on here...) could not wait for the day to be over...the week to be over. something's really gotta give...

made a last-minute decision to do my last long run before Queens last nite instead of this weekend, as the weather report looked to be a washout. Perfect nite for it...10 miles-done and done. 7 Flyer sightings during that time too. :) So far the weather report for next Saturday looks very good...hopefully won't change too much between now and then...

Also, a shoe update...I've done 4 runs in the Cumuluses so far (including yesterday's 10-miler.) I like the feel of them...feels more cushy and bouncy than some of my recent shoes have. But not too heavy or clunky or like too much shoe. Seem to work fine with the orthotics. I think I will take a chance and use them for the half...but I'm not gonna go as far yet as to say they are my perfect shoes. Ask me again after another hundred or so miles :)

now playing: "desert rose (remix)" ~ sting

the shoe search continues...

didn't know what to title this blog post at first!! at first i thought "ugly shoes" but nixed it...didn't sound too nice.

so anyway, last nite the Flyers had a special shopping night at Jackrabbit Sports in Union Square...which included us getting a nice discount on purchases that nite. since i had help set the event up, i had to be there to oversee things, and felt it didn't hurt to get re-analyzed. especially since now i'm not too sure if the Brooks are my perfect shoe. after seeing that there was no gait difference between stability shoes and motion-control shoes (and I wear orthotics too) I was even more puzzled. finally, the person who was helping me asked if they had ever put me in a neutral shoe to test-they hadn't. so i tried out 2 brands...the Asics Gel-Cumulus 7 and the Brooks Glycerin 4 with my orthotics in them. Surprise of surprises-my gait still looked fine, no pronation!! Hmmm! I had been wearing the Asics Nimbus 7's (and the 6's before that) before I was injured-which I did like (but felt like was a little too much shoe...and I was told by a salesperson at Urban Athletics that the Cumulus was the "poor man's Nimbus") but was lacking arch support then, which I do have now with the orthotics. So I'll decided to try the Cumluses...we'll see. (and with the discount, also picked up a new pair of sport sunglasses...needed to replace the crapola ones I wore at the Bronx half last year.)

The catch!! Though I know you don't buy running shoes for looks, I've been lucky so far that any running shoes I've worn have been very appealing to the eye as well. But these...oh man, orange is NOT my color!!! Well maybe this is a sign...the shoe that looked least likely may actually be the one that's most likely? Hopefully?

After all...like men, how many more running shoes are there left for me to try?