Watertower Hill Loop

Great run today...pretty much annihilated my best time on a regular lunchtime route...5.5 miles in 44:47. Not sure if it was the 42 degree weather in shorts, the new kicks or the tempo work paying off...the jury is still out. This past weekend, I ran 13 miles this weekend in them straight out of the box and the were better that the Saucony's have ever been...I'll decide after my 18-miler on Thanksgiving.

The new gym is now open and its mack daddy enormous!! Haven't really done much there apart from swim a few thousand meters, sit in the steam room and check out the wares from the perimeter. Maybe I'll dive in this weekend.

Also, congrats to both BJ and Gordy at IMAZ for taking it to the limit. Makes me anxious for September 13, 2009.

New shoes!

Well, I thought I was a Saucony guy...I've been thru a half dozen pairs of the ProGrid Guide 5's...I've recently come to learn that I really don't need a mild stability shoe and may be much more comfortable with neutral cushion...and besides the EVA cushioning was toast after a few hundred miles.

So, the new shoe in town...Brooks Defyance...and let me tell ya, sitting here at my desk I can tell I am gonna love them. Haha. Anyways...in truth, I have read a ton of great reviews on these kicks and figure that I may be one step closer to happy feet if I just break away (though I will always love my retro Saucony Jazz). Tomorrow's 13-miler will be the first test.

With my new orthotics on order and new sneaks in hand, all I need to do is have a lift built into my right shoe and I will be on my way to running bliss. I hope. Stay tuned!

Also, this weekend is IM AZ...and I must give a shout out to my peeps...BJ and Gordy! Go get 'em!

Let there be light...

...for grilling! No more BBQ by headlamp.

My mom and dad were in town this past weekend, and that means projects. Projects that I usually can't do solo. Great bonding time with my pop, as we both love projects...we got two big ones tackled. The first, a light in the back yard so I will no longer have to cook on the grill in the pitch black and possibly not burn and serve up dried out chicken hockey pucks anymore...and new windows in the basement to replace the nasty, cloudy, drafty broken aluminum pieces of crap that were down there.

Still got my 17 miles in on Saturday...which made going up and down a ladder A LOT of fun...

Tonight's plan...insulation.

First snow & random catch up!

Once you get in the habit of not blogging, it sure is easy to stay that way...that coupled with the fact that I feel like I have nothing profound to discuss has made the blog an arduous chore...plus, I sort of got the Facebook hook in me lately (thanks Adam).

On the training front, I am closet training for the AZ Rock n' Roll Marathon in January and starting to think about my 2009 race calendar. Additionally, I need new sneakers bad...scratch that...rewind...I really I need new feet. BAD. With my leg length difference, my blood blister-used-to-be-pinkie-toe and one neutral, one over-pronating pair of feet, I am really struggling to find a whole lot of comfort. The latest plan is to get a flat orthotic for running, get a serious neutral cushion shoe and have a cobbler build up the sole 8 - 10 mm to offset the leg length discrepancy, a $300-plus experiment...but from all I have read the best way to skin this cat.

Kristina has continued to carry the significant majority of the weight when it comes to the puppy, for which I am thankful, as I continue my pursuit to remodel the man-cave AKA basement. Honey, I just call it a man cave, you can still hang out. I am loving doing and learning how to do the work...minus drywall of course. My dad and I are going to put in new windows tomorrow, after my run...17 miles on suck shoes, big fun.

Today, we had our first little snowfall, winter is around the bend, my parents are visiting for a week, our new gym opened 2 days ago and the parking lot resembles that of a rock concert, one of my best friend's moms growing up passed away this week from breast cancer, the reason why I called him after so long...a recalibration of life's perspective...the last three weeks in a nutshell.