Shoes

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New running shoes to the rescue!

So much going on here and the blog is screaming for me to write, so here I am, putting all else behind and writing finally.

Last week, my son got the flu, I got a small version of the flu – to be honest I was over it in just a day or two.  My son is back to normal now and we continue on with life.

I finally broke down and bought me a pair of Brooks PureFlow 3 on Saturday.  I was starting to have pains where I never have pains and my heel spur was getting angry, so I thought I should buy another pair, even though my shoes had less then 200 miles on them.  I’m glad I did.

As soon as I put on my new shoes, I could feel support in the exact areas I was hurting.  Looking at my old shoes, I didn’t really see much wear, but all my hill running had taken a toll on them.  What goes up, must come down, and running down steep hills at times means a lot of pressure on my shoes.

So I ran this weekend some.  Saturday was my off day, but I wanted to try these shoes out.  I put them on and ran a quick 2 miles.  They felt great.  My last mile was at 5K pace and it was over 90 outside.

Sunday I wanted to run a long run or my mountain run, but my body wasn’t over the pain inflicted by my shoes that were wearing out.  I chose to run 5 miles in my neighborhood.  The first three were lousy.  I felt weak, my legs felt heavy and it was very humid outside.  Then at mile 4 I began to come to life.  My legs finally decided to wake up and I had a great ending to my run.  I still kept it at 5 miles for the reasons stated above, but I was satisfied with my run.

Back to work today and then my hill run this afternoon if my body feels up to it.  Looking at the weather, we will be in the 90’s until a week from wednesday when the temps finally plunge into the 70’s.  Of course that is 10 days out and there are no guarantees.

I’m still debating on the marathon in December.  I have a lot going on right now and I remember the huge amount of time and effort goes into training.  So, decisions, decisions.  I have to make my mind up soon though.  Really soon.  It was exactly a year ago I ran my first marathon with TJ.  I must say it was a rewarding experience.

Tom

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I’m glad I run!

Running has been interesting lately.

My weight has stabilized (thanks to ACV) so I don’t need to run to keep from gaining weight.  Though this is a blessing, it is also a curse in some ways.  It has become harder to get out each day and run in the heat when I don’t “have” to run to keep weight off.

We also haven’t run any races since our half marathon in April.  The reason for this is mainly because of my hip and back issues that have also been solved thanks to my Backjoy Posture+ seat cushion.

So in some ways I have more reason to run.  I don’t hurt anymore (for the most part) and I am thinner.

Finally I have new shoes.  I accidentally wrote that I had Wave Rider’s rather then Wave Precision in my last post.  Either way, I’ve never run in a Mizuno shoe or in a shoe with a higher drop of 4mm.  These have a 12mm drop and I can tell the difference.  The first day I wore them was a bit of torture.  My left heel would scuff the ground as I ran, which I assume was left over from my hip issue.  Also they have a much more cushioned heel, so I had to almost learn to run all over again. That first run in 100 degree HI was difficult.

Yesterday was my second run in these shoes and it went so much better.  It was much cooler out and I ran well with no scuffing of my heel.  I wound up my 4 mile run at nearly a 8:30 pace which I haven’t seen since the heat kicked in.

So new shoes, less weight, little to no pain.  I should be training for a marathon rather than dreading the next run.

I chalk all my lack of desire up to the summer doldrums.  THIS is the reason to make exercise a habit as I wrote for my section in the Runner’s World Big Book of Running (Link).  My running isn’t based on a feeling.  It is based on a habit.  So whether I want to or not, hot or cold, I go out each day for my run.

Running has been interesting lately.  I’m glad I run!

Tom

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One of the best runs I’ve had!

I’ve looked forward to writing this post all night.

My run yesterday was… unusual to say the least!

It began by being asked by a guy in a truck to look for his missing dogs.  Sure!  No problem.

Then a dog about the size of my (new) Brooks PureFlow2 came running straight at me.  Seriously.  He was like a Kamikaze.  He got right up to me and then ran behind me barking.  I was afraid I would step on him and hurt him (or worse).

Then I ran by a house that has a dog that is always chained up in the front yard.  He barks at me like I am his worse enemy.  Each time I run by he comes running after me and then gets yanked by the chain.  I wave and move on.  HOWEVER, this time there was no chain.  He ran at me, through the yard, into the street and looked like he was going to take me down.  I was shocked.  I just slowed down and told him “Stop”.  He ran past and back into his yard.  Talk about hair standing up on my head.  Why didn’t these people have the dog tied up!!!

On the the good part of the run.

For some reason my phone kept switching from GPS to the accelerometer.  It did it 3 times in 2 miles.  Sadly when it was on the accelerometer it would measure my pace at walking pace.  So by the time I got to 2 miles, I was at a 9:00 average pace and I know I should have been around 8:20.  I finally stopped, rebooted my phone and then started again.  It did the accelerometer one more time and then finally kept with the GPS.

As I hit the middle of my run I started feeling great.  My legs felt great, my new shoes had spring and I was moving.  Since I don’t run sprints or and type of speed runs, I will race cars, buses and other runners to get my speed in.  It is a psychological thing. If I hear a car coming up behind me and there is a stop sign ahead, I’ll try and beat it to the sign.  This gives me random moments of sprinting without having to make it a formal thing.  Yesterday I beat 2 cars and ran by one (slow) jogger (who sped up as I passed.  Seriously, I knew he wasn’t in great condition. Why speed up as I run past?  Like a car on the interstate.  You go to pass and they go from 60 Mph to 80.  So annoying).  Sorry for the rant.

Finally the really fun part.  I know I was moving fast.  I ended the last two miles at my 5K pace which is usually reserved for races only. 🙂

As I was on the last leg of my run, I saw a young runner ahead of me, so my goal was to try to catch him.  I honestly thought I couldn’t, but I wanted to try.  As I was catching up he stopped to stretch.  Ha.  I caught him and was running below a 7:00 pace.  As I passed, he looked at me and started to run with me.  He asked how far I was going and I said I was just going a half mile.  He asked if he could join since he only had that much more to run also.  I said that would be great.  I have never run with anyone in my neighborhood before other then my kids.  We ran at a 7:00 pace and talked a bit.  He said that he is going back into the military and trying to get back into shape.  I got to tell him I weighed almost 300 lbs just 3 years ago and am getting ready for Nashville.

We got to the end of my run, shook hands, introduced ourselves and he turned to run home.  I looked at my phone and I was at 7:03 for the last mile and only had .15 more to go to finish the mile.  So I started running again.  I watched my phone and my run wasn’t registering.  Suddenly the dreaded words!  “Switching to Accelerometer”.   NOOOOOO.  I stopped my run and looked.  My 7:03 pace was now 7:18 and I didn’t finish the mile, however my overall pace dropped from 9:00 average at mile 3 to 8:21.  I felt great!  I love my mountain and ACV!

Here is a pic of my splits (oh and if you managed to read this whole post – thanks.  I usually try to keep them short!).

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Brooks Running has great customer service!

Brooks is awesome!

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I called their customer service about my shoe and foot issue. They said that they didn’t know why I was having this issue, but that they would send me a pair of the same color as the shoes I love… No shipping… No cost and didn’t even want my old shoes back.

Okay, I’m pretty impressed at that one.  I love my PureFlow2 and was worried I’d have a pair of shoes that I couldn’t use.  Now, actually, I do have a pair I can’t use, but I’m getting a new pair for free.

That is customer service that you don’t see every day.

Thanks Brooks Running!

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Great runs lately, but…

I think I need new shoes…

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Actually I had new shoes and left them at a hotel a couple of weeks ago.  Of course housekeeping never saw them, but they are gone.  So I had to use my 300 mile Brooks that have gotten a bit worn from my mountain runs.  It is a rough road and I guess I drag my foot a bit going down the mountain.  I must admit though, the great runs I have been having aren’t from my shoes. 🙂

My new shoes arrive today, so these will be converted to lawn mowing shoes for the summer.

Have an AWESOME weekend.

Tom

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PureFlow running

I took the plunge.

Brooks PureFlow 2 - My new shoes

Brooks PureFlow 2 – My new shoes

These are the first pair of non-Saucony shoes I’ve owned.

Brooks PureFlow 2

TJ, RS and I went to the TrakShak in Birmingham yesterday evening to hear about training runs and events for the Mercedes Marathon in February 2014.  We’ve never really participated in group runs and training runs, so this is new.

While waiting for the event to start, I began trying on shoes.  TJ was a huge help as I have been one sided with Saucony and he has branched out a bit.  I really liked the Brooks PureFlow 2 as soon as I tried it on.  My foot is a little on the wider side and it had plenty of room.  It’s weight isn’t much more than the Saucony Fastwitch shoes I’ve been wearing for some time now and it definitely seems to have more support.

Hopefully this weekend I’ll be wearing them on at least one run.  I walked again yesterday because of my hip.  It is about 90% better, but I really want to give it the time it needs to heal so that I don’t have to interrupt my training for the Vulcan 10K coming up November 2.

The other great thing about the meeting last night was that there was a guy there who has run over 136 marathon and above races and has been running since the 70’s.  Here is his blog.  He is also a physical therapist, so I was able to ask him about my SI joint issues.  He was very helpful and recommended some easy stretches to loosen it up for running.  As with my Chiropractor, he said never stretch right before running.  He did say to stretch as much as I can throughout the day – thus I will.

I hope that things will start to settle down for me.  I really like to run and I am not one who likes to do many other physical activities.  I know that I should probably cross train and do other forms of workouts, but I am not an athlete.  I just want to run.  I don’t mind (but don’t really enjoy) running workouts.  They helped me get my first half done in 1:44 which I thought was great.  But for me running is simple.  Running is fun.  Running is what I want to do.  So that is what I do.

I’ll write about how I like the Brooks.  It really is about time for me to move beyond one brand of shoe.

Thanks for everyone’s ideas and support on my posts over the past few days.

I couldn’t do this without you all!!!