Time to retire the New

Running friends have all been changing to new shoes recently.  I've put in some great miles with my New Balance shoes and have been reluctant to even look because once I find a shoe that I like, I try to wear it until it has holes in it.  Though, I have to admit, I've been jealous of some of the shoes I've seen. 

CT had a gift card burning a hole in her pocket and had a pair that she'd been salivating over for a few weeks.  Even though mine have thirteen hundred miles on them, they still feel good.  We stopped at our favorite running store to check out shoes for her, of course they didn't have the pair she was ultimately after, but she found these really unique shoes on the clearance shelf.  They were hot pink, extremely lite,and were different looking. She didn't try them on and continued to shop around.  Caught up in the new shoe excitement, I thought what the heck and started poking around the guy clearance shoes.  Low and behold, I found the guy's version of that shoe, only difference being it was neon green.  Pointing this out to CT, she thought I should try them on.  They felt pretty good.  Then a quick jog in the store, resulted in they feel really good.  So good, I made CT try on the female version.  Her evaluation was the same as mine and she pushed me to get them.  Had I been by myself, I probably would have held off and decided to stay loyal to my New Balance, but if she was game to get her pair, think it's only fitting that we matched.

For as great as the last run I blogged about was, I do think I tweaked myself.  All the hills, my right calf got pulled, then the past few runs I've been feeling some arch pain which I'm not even going to say what I think it is because it's that hated amongst runners.  That had me already wondering if it was time to replace my shoes.  These new green shoes, I thought I'd try to keep them race shoes.  This weekend came around and I struggled with using my old shoes or giving the new ones a try.  It was a long run, sixteen miles, and it breaks a cardinal rule to never go long with new shoes.  On the other hand, my foot was already bothering me, what could it hurt?

I remember as a kid believing the number of stripes on the shoes, the faster they would be.  I still find it hard to believe that shoes can really make much difference, simply by logic.  Sixteen miles later, I'm not so sure.  These shoes don't have any stripes on them, but they apparently gave me a cape, because I flew.  Fastest run ever, for me.  At one point I didn't even believe what my watch was telling me because it honestly didn't feel like I was running hard, yet I was a full minute per mile faster than I have been.  I was very impressed with all the things I accomplished in my New Balance shoes, but there's a new green monster in town. These Asics seem aptly named, Speedstars.              

Gang's all here

I thought the Run Camp numbers were low this year, but from the look of it, things picked up. That's a herd of people!

It's been hard to think of topics to talk about week in and week out, so this blog is getting a little dusty. Last year, it seemed like each week was an adventure and a accomplishment. This year, it's "I've done this before and I know I can do it." The adrenaline rush and the excitement levels aren't the same. Heck, I know that energy pulled me through some of the miles last year. Things are much more relaxed this time around. So, this week it was fun to see the half marathoners show up and feed off their energy.

On a physical level, it's interesting the difference from last year to this year. After a long Saturday run, I was done and wouldn't even consider running on Sunday. This year already, there have been a number of times where I've done this. I'd also judge how tired I was by the walk up the stairs at the office in the morning. So many times my ankles and legs would just ache going up them. This year, those same steps the only grief I get is knowing I'm heading to work.

This week's run was one of the hardest runs training last year. I haven't progressed to the point where you are going to hear me brag at how easy it felt this year, because that won't happen and I doubt it could EVER happen. With two miles to go, I was ready to be done. Afterward, I looked at my stats. This year I ran this hell route a full minute per mile faster than last year. That's not one minute faster, that's fourteen minutes faster overall, which I think is damn amazing. Technically, it wasn't my fastest half marathon time, but that thirteen miles was relatively flat. This route had way more elevation change and the slight time difference between the two, this hands down, is the best run I've had. Oh and did I mention I had a head cold? Maybe I was in the zone, maybe I'm getting better, either way I'm excited for the results.