a review & a wrap

Per Josh, I am gonna give a review of my new Pearl Izumi Streak shoes: this a very light (6.9 oz) shoe. It is neutral and can be used as a racing “flat” or for longer distances. The shoe seems to run a little small, so even though i am size 8, they feel a little tight in the toe box. if you are gonna check it out, i would also check out the 1/2 size up from your normal size. I didn’t do this and although I feel ok with the 8, i would like to see what the 8.5 feels like. I love that they are so light. They feel sweet on my feet. I’ve run on treadmill with them and outside. I noticed when I ran outside on the wet streets that they seemed a bit slippery, so be cautious of this. They don’t seem to have as good a grip on the soles as most my other shoes. Overall, happy with my purchase. I will want to try Pearl Izumi trail shoes, but I have to at least wait awhile. I don’t need any new trails shoes. YET. 🙂

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ok. on to the week/weekend wrap. Wednesday woke up around 6, got out of bed, dressed, and went downstairs to the gym. Ran a good 3 miles on treadmill. I was proud of myself for getting up and doing this because I rarely workout on weekday mornings, but i just felt like i wanted to mix things up a bit. Ran about another 3 miles after work on Wednesday.
Saturday, it was ugly outside. We had rain most of the day on Friday and it continued Saturday. It wasn’t cold out, just rainy and dark and grey! Since it wasn’t very cold, I ran a good 6 after going into the office for a bit. My legs felt unusually heavy and tired. Not sure why. I was just happy to finish with 6.
Sunday comes along and no rain, but very grey skies and about 48 degrees. I woke up late and after coffee and piddling around I went over to Performance Bike.
It is about 1/2 -3/4 mile from my place. I got my tired pumped up and looked for some new cycling shorts. Unsuccessful. Was about to hop on my bike when my phone rang and it was my friend, Shu (pronounced SUE). I said i was getting on my bike and about to swing by her place. So, that’s what I did. I rode to her house and sat for about 10 minutes. Drank some water and then hopped back on the bike. The return trip was tough. Steeper hills and wind. Riding a bike in the wind is worse than running in the wind! But, i made it through the wind and hills back to my car. 10 miles total trip. I then drove back to my house and opted for the treadmill. My body was cold & I just felt like being inside. Ran a good 4.2 miles while watching some NCAA mens basketball. I felt strong & maybe thought of going longer, but decided to call it at 4.2. Did some AB work and then got cleaned up & fed.

And for Jeffro out there: i offer you more from Peal Izumi to try to help get you motivated! C’mon Buddy!

run easy is an oxymoron. what is about running that scares people so much? why do people feel they have to put friendly modifiers next to running so everyone can feel good about it? Well, here’s the ugly truth. everyone shouldn’t feel good about running. it’s hard. it hurts. running requires sacrifice and heart and guts. any attempt to water it down with feel good adjectives is a slap in the face to those of us who still hold running sacred. in fact, if you are running easy, chances are you’re not running at all. you’re jogging. so do us a favor, don’t run easy. Run hard. Run like an animal.

OH! and CONGRATS to all the folks who ran ING Half or Full Marathon this morning. Especially my buddy, Ryan Harry!!