WTF, legs. Seriously, WTF.

I'm proud to say this blog has been mostly positive. But today, you'll have to pardon me. Cause I just ran and it sucked.

As I've been saying, my schedule has gotten tighter and tighter and so for the first time since July-- I went three days without a run. Sunday, Monday, Tuesday. I was really planning on running Tuesday, but it was frickin cats and dogs out there, and I'm not running in a rain coat.

So, I confess, I built today's run up in my mind. This was going to be a five miler in good time, make my day kinda run. But 4 steps in, I knew it was wrong. What happened? It honestly felt like somebody strapped on those 10 lbs weight belts around each of my thighs.

My biggest accomplishment today is that I didn't stop and beg the fine people of Lexington, Massachusetts for a ride home. I made it, charlie horse legs and all. Somehow.

I'm really not sure what happened. My guess is I did too many stairs yesterday at school. Or maybe some trolls came out from under the bed last night and injected me with suck juice.

The shoes. Gotta be the shoes.

SHOUT OUT! My brother and his lovely wife just had their first child. Do they make running shoes for 1 day olds?

Today, I ran 4.5 miles. It's my first run over 3.5 in a couple weeks, mostly because I've been running 6/7 days a week. Distance is in the back seat for the moment. But it felt good. This shift from running 3/4 days a week to 5/6 days a week has happened in the last 3 months. I have to say it's been an adjustment, but it's felt right. Part of this, I think, is due to the shoes from the Jack Rabbit Experience.

The brand of my shoes is Mizuno. I tried on some Brooks, New Balances, Saucony, etc-- all part of the experience of going to Jack Rabbit, but the ones that felt right on my arch and had me landing evenly were these Mizunos. They are ugly as ----. Have a look.

http://www.holabirdsports.com/m/Shoes/Running-Shoes/Mizuno/p1/Mizuno-Wave-Inspire-6-Men-Charcoal-Orange/044209.htm?utm_source=Google_Base&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=Mizuno%20Wave%20Inspire%206%20Men%20Charcoal%2FOrange&utm_campaign=Google_Base

So the description may be accurate. I'm not a shoe expert. But what I will say is this-- I've noticed that pre these shoes, my hamstrings were tight, my knees got sore on occasion, my feet would get hot, and I was having toe pain. ALL of these thing have been corrected.

I'd love to hear if anybody has tried those "toe" running shoes. The ones that are shaped like a foot? Please write if you've tried them.

Chipotle.

Back in Beantown and things are looking up. While school has packed on the reading and writing assignments, I have dodged packing on the pounds. It doesn't help that Cambridge has added a Chipotle. The only problem with that place is you feel like a car being put together on an assembly line. Example:

Chipotle lady (vaguely smiling with hand already on tortilla...)
Me: I'll have...um...
CL: Your order.
Me: Yeah. Um. Fajita burrito bowl.
(Food somehow already assembled, there's rice, onions, peppers already down)
CL: Meat?
Me: Sure.
CL: WHAT KIND.
Me: Oh. Barbacoa.
(Introduce CL partner who has one hand on a spoon with salsa, another with sour cream...you get the idea.)

The whole interaction takes about .46 seconds. And if you're too slow, NFL draft style, the team behind you is allowed to take your pick. Very stressful. But also, very delicious. NOTE-- if you eat Chipotle, it's usually best to NOT schedule a run the next day. Buyers beware.

Meanwhile, scheduling runs has gotten a bit tougher. I have full days working in a school on Mondays and Thursdays that start at 7:30am, and Tuesday is class all day. And the evening run is getting harder because September is turning off the lights and it's dark by 7pm. Oh Summer, we hardly knew ye. Anyway-- if you're in town and up for a run, I could use the company. Let me know. Here's the current schedule.

Sunday: Prefootball run. Must be done by 1:00pm so I can cry in front of Arizona Cardinals games. DEREK ANDERSON. Sigh.
Monday: Day off
Tuesday: Run in gym (but what gym?) at 6:00pm OR day off
Wednesday: Morning Run
Thursday: Afternoon Run
Friday: Run anytime
Saturday: Run anytime

Rinse and repeat. That's the recipe for 20 miles per week that will have me set to go in Summer 2011 for official marathon training. Holy crap. Later skaters.

Where did Chris go?

No seriously, where did I go?

I'll tell you. I started school and it has been incredible. Pair that with the wife's birthday, a boatload of readings and...well...OKAY I'M ASHAMED. FEEL BETTER NOW?!?! But seriously folks, I ran 6/7 days this week and have been working it all in. Though I've dealt with a couple minor health issues, nothing has kept me off the road and things couldn't be better.

Now I'm well aware I owe you an article about my current running shoes, and apologies, but I'm putting it off again. Why? Because my friend Ben found an interesting article that is most enlightening.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/01/phys-ed-does-stretching-before-running-prevent-injuries/

So I'm not sure if this article is a "game changer" or anything-- but certainly thought provoking. And since stretching apparently doesn't matter all that much, it seems to make getting the right shoes all the more important. So there's that.

Incentiveator #2

Incentiveator #2-- Go to your local really awesome running shop.

In new york, it's Jack Rabbit hands down. In Boston, Marathon Sports. Feel free to name your store in other cities.

I know what you're thinking. A shoe is a shoe is a shoe. You're right...kinda. Full disclosure, I ran on New Balances (the 990 series) for about 6 years. And I was happy with them. I picked that shoe because it was really cushiony and had a wide toe-box. Both of these things matter a great deal when one has a mangled left foot that looks more like the state of New Jersey (in the shape of the state, it's much more attractive than the landscape...), but I had never had the professional treatment. When I started all this running craziness this winter, I went out and finally bought "Happy Feet," an insole that really made a difference. I noticed an immediate difference on those-- so I didn't really think that a Jack Rabbit trip would make a big difference.

Note-- so far I've said I felt good a lot. My pain issues (when I had them) were toe pain (in the big toe of the left foot), knee soreness (on occasion), and tightness in the ankles and hamstrings (kind of all the time). None of these kept me off the roads except the ankle in 2006.

I don't mean to sound like a commercial, but what impressed me most about Jack Rabbit was the fact that the first sales woman could not diagnose my running style well enough, but she sought help. After 5 pairs of shoes, she brought in another guy who worked with us-- and he really knew his stuff. Why is this important? Cause they care-- perhaps too much. Too much to let me walk out with the wrong shoe or to lose me because none of those shoes were as good as my NBs. This hand-holding is a style thing-- if you want to be in and out, this is not friend. But then, this guy made a rec and I found my new shoes.

I'm saving the name of the shoes for the next article, but for now, just know that it really is a personal fit thing. In retrospect, it reminds me a lot of how jeans fit. Not everybody can wear low-rises. And sometimes the baggy ones ain't workin. When you find the ones that make you feel good, well-- you see where this is going.

My new shoes are peanut-butter Puffins in chocolate milk good (think about it-- yeah, that's delicious). More on this tomorrow or the next day.

Singing in the Rain

Well, I'm all settled in in Boston. I'll make my first trek into Cambridge tomorrow, though school doesn't really start until Wednesday.

But I didn't let all the commotion stop me from getting my first two Boston runs in. Today there was a very pleasant drizzle which kept me cool-- thus the headline.

A couple of you have asked me how I track mileage when I'm not running a track I'm familiar with. Well, isn't google great for everything? Try out this site.

http://www.geodistance.com/?id=60797

I have entered my most recent run-- but you can put anything in there to track your distance. It's actually really gratifying to track how far you went, and can help you to be creative with future jogs.

Have fun!

I'm leaving, On a Jetplane-- errr-- Volvo!

So folks, I've been busy. The delay has been packing related. Tomorrow morning, I'm loading up the car with all my stuff and heading off to Boston.

The limbo is finally over.

From a running perspective, this means things are about to get tough. I'm going from deciding if I'd like to run at 11:00 am or 3:00pm to 6:00am or 8:00pm. Woe is me.

Okay okay, I've been spoiled. I know. I promise a more detailed posting soon.