Beautiful

A beautiful run on a beautiful day with beautiful new shoes!!  It's spring, and I'm a runner.

'Nuff said.

Love at first step

My new running shoes are.....

Nikes! They just felt oh-so-right at the running store (Transports in Oakland). I've had a few couple great workouts in them and now need to deal with the accumulation of beat up running shoes floating around our place!

Still counts as a long run

This week was a cutback week to make sure that I don't overtrain my legs and to conserve energy for the Kaiser half marathon. So, I ran 13.5 miles with Jenica on the Iron Horse Trail and we chatted the entire way! I believe that every city/town should have a greenway or trail system so that people can enjoy the outdoors and exercise in a safe and convenient way.

In gear related news....Now I'm really enjoying my new Saucony running shoes because they provide my feet with some nice cushioning, and they fit well. And, you know how they say that great marathons come from happy feet :)

Holy guanacaste!

I got into the 2009 New York City Marathon!


I have the incredible opportunity to run the New York City marathon on November 1 with about 37,000 other people from around the globe! The 26.2 mile race covers all five boroughs and is considered one of the largest sporting-spectator-events. I love New York....

Yes, this means I'll be running two marathon during the four months between July and November. And, yes, this also means that I'll be bonding with my running shoes, socks, clothes, and Garmalade, pasta and gus, running buddies and long run routes :) I'll definitely be writing more about training for two marathons.

Today's tempo run around Lake Merritt went well in the strangely persistent Bay Area gray humidity. I averaged under 8:17 for the 20 minute tempo portion.

Loop-de-loop

For some reason, I tend to run out-and-back routes. Those out-and-backs require fewer navigational skills or mathematical time/distance calculations. You leave the house, go for a certain amount of time/distance...Then, you turn around to head back home, and---Voila!---your time/distance has doubled AND you're right back where you started :)

Well, today I ran a terrific loop that took me up Moraga Avenue, past Piedmont Park, and then down Mandana. The end of my run included cruising down Lakeshore and back around to Grand Avenue. My calypsos treated me well on the uphills and downhills, and I absorbed plenty of bright and crisp morning air! This run has inspired me to develop some more looping routes- yay!

Fetish?

Even though Carrie Bradshaw might not approve of them, I'm loving my squeaky pair of Brooks Adrenaline 9s!

As previously mentioned, I've had three pairs of Brooks Adrenaline 8s. And, not to be a shoe brand snob, but it seems that Brooks fit the shape of my feet and feel right. For me, Brooks are not too cushiony (ie- Saucony) and not too light (ie- Nike). I also dig the Brooks slogan: Run happy. Of course, other people have different preferences about running shoe brands.

I decided that it was time for a new pair and thought I should upgrade to the newest model- the Adrenaline 9. Fortunately, running warehouse had that model on sale :) I'll probably end up ordering another pair soon because if you stockpile a shoe you really like, you don't have to worry about shoe shopping a couple months (and a couple hundred miles) down the road.

I have to admit that I think the grey/coral colors (which Brooks calls calypso!) are fun and pretty. My calypsos remind me of a Carribean steel drumming group, so they should be groovy on runs, especially those loooong marathon training runs!!

Creature of habit

I'm currently on my third pair of Brooks Adrenaline 8 shoes. First I got fitted for a blue pair at Transports (where I met Olympic marathoner Magda Lewy Boulet). Then I bought a pink pair and wore them out. Now I'm running in another blue pair, and they're SO cushy, yet serious.

They make me want to take care of business. The business of running, that is.