baby's got new shoes

So I had to break down and get a new pair of running shoes. Crazy what they charge for shoes, but it's really true that if you spend less than $80 on a pair of shoes, you're way more likely to get shin splints or other injuries.

Me, I'm a saucony girl. Love those shoes, and I'm glad to see that the designs this year aren't ugly. . . and it's finally daylight savings time, so running time is easier to find. For a perverse reason that I haven't yet figured out, I like to run along major streets. In college, there was this road that ran along the north edge of campus. I'd run it from end to end pretty much every day--usually five miles round trip, sometimes I'd take it a bit further, but the further away from the major roads, the less comfortable I was/am. The farthest I have ever gone was a trip to the airport--13.6 miles roundtrip. Not so smart since there was a part of that road without much room on the sides--thus it was a one time deal. While I like the five-milers, I don't have much desire to go farther. Here in Los Angeles, there's a nice stretch of Sunset Blvd. that's about 2.25 miles one-way, so out and back is a good run--not too many lights or major roads to cross, no major turns (hard on the knees), and not too hilly. It's pretty great for my purposes.

Need to get into a more regular routine with it though. I'm an evening runner--I like to go in the late afternoon or early evening before dinner, but that can be hard with my schedule, and the daylight (hence my happiness that daylight savings has returned). Maybe I need to get up earlier in the AM and get in the habit of going in the AM . . . there was one summer when I was running before morning rehearsals, but it lasted for all of three weeks before either my allergies kicked in or I got sick--to this day, still not sure which. Anyway . . . when it comes to mornings, my track record is not so good.

But the extended daylight and the new (not ugly) shoes mean that I should be running my ass off. Tomorrow AM, I'm on it. The first run in the new shoes wasn't so fun. I don't know if it was residual shin splints (though I don't think I had any pain before), or the new shoes aren't as great as I'd hoped--$80 is a lot for a pair of gym trainers. Hopefully that's not the case. I'm an optimist.

Hopefully tomorrow AM (note, we're going with the AM) won't prove me wrong.