Shoes & News

Whole bunch of stuff to post, but it may not make it all into this. The simple stuff first...I got the Asics Gel-Trabucos yesterday. The whole Zappos thing worked out and UPS got them to me on time. They look very outdoorsy, which is not a requirement for me, but it is appreciated. Traditional road running shoes have certain looks and trail runners do as well. This is definitely a trail runner and I like it. They felt funny at first, but I kept them on last night just to break them in a bit and the fit was much nicer at the end. They have a lot of adjustment built in, so I will have to play around with the lacing to figure out how best to adjust the heel as well as tie them comfortably.
The one thing that burns me, though, is that I saw these shoes at DSW for $80 yesterday. They had a different color, one which I prefer, but they didn't have my size. 10, 11, 12...no 12.5! So, I basically paid $13 more to get my size and to have access to an unlimited return policy. Doesn't seem worth it in the end, but that could turn out to be wrong. Besides, I can always go back to DSW, buy the shoes there if they do get my size, and return the first pair to Zappos.

I had planned on getting up this morning to run in them, but I didn't make it out of bed in time. So, I guess I'll just have to run tonight. A shorter run on a mostly paved surface, but I'll hit the grass and dirt as much as I can. To really get my feet wet (no pun intended), I signed up for the last race in the Backyard Burn series put on by EX2 Adventures. I'm doing the 5 mile trail run so that I can get a sense for how a trail running race works, to get some real time on a trail, and to further get used to the new shoes. I am pretty excited about this race, actually. I think it will be a heck of a lot of fun and it isn't that far from my house. In fact, on a good day, I could run to the race start, run the trail itself, and then consider running back home.

Got a few other running items recently too. I picked up a 4 bottle Fuel Belt, which I think is the Terminator model (or something wacky and aggressive sounding like that). Actually, I think it is called the Endurance model, which makes no sense since "endurance" suggests a long run and this is only the half-way point in their product line. You can get six bottles, eight bottles, and bigger bottles for your belt, which would all help out on a very long run.



I also got a second part of decent running shorts at the Reebok outlet. Nothing fancy, but something that will work well this summer.

I am just really excited to be running again after this nonsense with my health. I feel good, initial report from the doctor is that I am fine, and I am back on the path. Anybody wanna race?