Running In Place

Actually, guys can read too - it’s not yucky.

Awhile back, Megan asked the question of the ages for running women with actual thighs. In response I give you

I bought my first pair at Walmart last year, pre-injury, so I had forgotten that they were actually my one and only pair of non-creepers until I pulled them from the bottom of the summer storage bag recently. Not wanting to traipse around Walmart (or give them any more of my money) I was able to find them online at the manufacturer’s website. They are simply nylon, no lining, very lightweight. They do have nice deep pockets. And most importantly no crawling, and so far no chafing. This has been my experience anyway so hopefully it will be helpful to someone.

Now, onto a little clarification. I think that I was not clear in my last post about how my race time related to my PR, and I apologize because I’ve been getting a couple of undeserved shout-outs for a PR that wasn’t. What I was meaning to say was that this race was 38 seconds slower than my PR, but that I was still very pleased because my PR was on a dead flat course and this fairly close time was on a course with some decent inclines. So I’m not disappointed that I didn’t PR. And I feel confident that, with the progress I seem to be making, I am not too far from another 5K PR. But, as much as I’d like to, I can’t take credit for it yet. So, sorry for the confusion and please take back all the nice things you said!

Lastly, tonight I ran with my club for the second time and I think I’m making a running friend!!! We ran together last week and again tonight. We are at right about the same pace and seem to be in sync in a way that we are able to each push the other just the right amount beyond what we would do if we were alone. Tonight I was almost in a bad way because I had attended a wedding shower for a co-worker prior to the run. The food is all laid out and I’m thinking ok, a little veggie and dip, a little pasta salad, and a little fruit will be just right. Then, just a little pizza, a little nachos and salsa, a little Boston Creme pie. The running involved some pretty persistent stitches on both sides and that very unsettling burp-could-be-mini-throwup feeling. Even so, we finished the 3 miles a flat minute faster this week - that’s right, this time I said faster. We exchanged numbers and I am so excited to have someone to call up and be all hey, let’s go for a run, ‘kay? Also, she has run the Boilermaker a couple of times in the past and is doing so this year. She’s in for some serious brain-picking! Yay!

Oh, I know I said “Lastly” on the previous topic but here’s the real Lastly. I trucked over to the Sneaker Store for some overdue replacements. The Asics Gel-Nimbus VI has been a fantastic post-injury shoe for me and I had no intentions of deviating from the tried and true. I went in with my old sneaks and asked for more of the same. The young man came back and said “here you go, we’ve got the upgrade” Cool! says I - because upgrade = new, improved, better, right?? The Gel-Nimbus VII sounds like it is supposed to be a much super greater version of VI, but to me it felt like a completely different, wholly unpleasant sneaker. It did not feel nearly as cushiony and it had a funny little bump under the arch that almost immediately started to cause a vaguely painful sensation below the ball of my foot just from standing and walking around the store! I am stupefied. When I asked if I could get some VI’s, dude was all like “I don’t know, I’ll see if I can order them.” And, “you can probably only get them in this color.

Whatever, just get me my damn sneakers (bordering on panic). So, thankfully, by the end of the week I should have a new pair of VI’s (we don’t know what color, he just asked for any available). I think I am going to order another pair online too. If I had the $$ I would order 100 pair so that I would never have to face the day, which will eventually come, when I will have to decide on something new and unknown. Maybe by then I will be a big strong runner, maybe I won’t be so paranoid that every little thing is going to be the source of grave injury, maybe there will be a better shoe and I will have better form and greater confidence and everything will be fine and changing sneakers, or even just models, won’t be such a trauma. Or maybe I’ll take out a loan and buy 100 pairs of my sneaker!