Shoes, shoes and more shoes

I've always have had a thing for shoes.

Maybe it’s to compensate for ugly feet, but I just love having a variety of shoes.  This has always been something that drives David nuts because not only do I love having a lot of shoes, I love leaving them all over the house.

As a compromise, I have bought shoe racks.  They hang on the bedroom door, master bathroom door and sit in every closet, as demonstrated in this vintage photo of Hayden wearing my dress:

The completely filled shoe racks did more than deal with the clutter - it worked as a deterrent.  If I bought more shoes, Where would I put them?  

But given the number of shoes that I own, it should not shock anyone that I also like to have a lot of running shoes.  It reminds me of the time I accidentally brought my road racing shoe to a trail race instead of my trail racing shoe....that is like grabbing a pair of Chucks to wear to a wedding!

Picking out running shoes is very personal.  I rarely read reviews because one person’s experience is irrelevant.  When I want a new shoe, I spend hours trying on different make /models and testing each pair with a 2-3 minute brisk run.  If I like a shoe, I may run 6-10 minutes.  I may do running drills. Or sprints.  Or cartwheels.

But even though I find reviews irrelevant, here are some thoughts on the current players in my shoe rotation:

1. Saucony Kinvara 2 and 3

I LOVE THIS SHOE.   This shoe does not like running slower than a 7 minute mile.  It’s made for speed.  It weighs practically next to nothing and although it has very little cushion, it is surprisingly comfortable.  The only downside is that because of its minimalist-style, it only gets 250ish miles.  I currently have 3 pairs, plus an additional pair for racing.  I feel that by giving the shoe at least 48 hours between wears, I can get at least 300 miles.  I wear them for speedwork, tempo runs, 5K - half marathons.  The 2’s are discontinued but just as good as the 3’s – if you can find them, buy them.  Unless you wear my size.  Sorry, but I bought every 10.5 I could find on the internet.

(If you need a shoe that offers stability, I recommend the Saucony Cortana.  It is like the Kinvara’s cushioned cousin and comes in prettier colors.)

2.  Saucony The Ride

Compared to the Kinvara, running in this shoe is like running in bricks, although still relatively light for its kind.  It’s good for a leisurely long run. 

3. Brooks Ghost 4

I alternate this shoe with The Ride.  Pros:  It has a wider toe box.  Cons:  It feels a little heavier and loses its bounce way too quickly.

4. New Balance 890s

I never thought I would run in New Balance sneakers but I must say, the 890s were a surprising treat to the feet!   They have more cushion than the Kinvara, but still very light weight and fast.  It’s a good suggestion for a non-minimalist, but minimalist-like, shoe and good for less leisurely long runs.

  

5.  Brooks PureGrit

I got these shoes two years ago on my birthday.  I couldn’t believe how simultaneously light weight and supportive they were.  I am hesitant to say more because I have not tried the newest model – I did, however, just buy two new pairs of the older model.  I know many other lightweight trail shoes have been introduced in the past two years, but the PureGrits have a special place in my heart.

6.  Newtons Distance

I am falling in the love with this shoe.  I won’t lie, it does help that the limited edition is pink.  Either you love Newtons or you don’t love Newtons.  They don’t have much cushion but they do have something that feels like a little spring board.  I feel like Newtons is a great shoe for running fast, but unlike the Kinvaras, I can just go jogging in them, too.  It’s just a comfortable, high mileage shoe that you can wear for any workout.  I’m currently not doing a lot of speedwork, or tempo runs, or long runs….so this is the pair that I find myself reaching for the most.  Plus, did I mention they were PINK?

In lieu of quicker runs, I've rekindled my relationship with my BOB - turns out, the spark is still there.

Started Another Year.

When I posted my last entry, I was 30 years old.
As I type this entry, I am 31 years old.

My birthday falls on Thanksgiving every 5 years.  Otherwise, it tends to be the day before or after, but this year it was not until Sunday!  Due to the unusual situation, we did not celebrate my birthday on Thanksgiving.  For the first time in a very very long time, I ate pumpkin pie instead of birthday cake.

I like pumpkin pie.

Despite my old age, I decided that it would be cute to dress up like my three year old daughter.  I think we sorta maybe pulled it off as a team, but only due to her charm and skeptical willingness.

At bedtime, I noticed Hayden shivering.  In true mom-style, I checked his forehead. Sure enough, his skin was burning.

He spent the next 3 days sipping children's Advil, sleeping, and developing a weird body odor.

I hated to see him sick but it did give me the opportunity to spend some quality time with Brenna.  We went out for breakfast.  We went shopping.  We went out for ice cream.

We eat ice cream very often, however, we do so as a team.

I like this because it makes us practice sharing.  And patience.

But since it was just the two of us, I ordered us each our own cone.

I think it rocked her little world to have that much ice cream promised to only her tongue.

By the time my birthday rolled around, Hayden was showing signs of his non-sick self but the rest of us were not feeling up to par.   Every year, I run on my birthday though.  And this year was not going to be an exception.

I met my running club at 7am for 13 miles at a brisk 7:26 average - I felt pretty good.  But then I got home, showered, and collapsed on the bed.  I no longer felt so good.

But this is the glorious thing about your birthday - you don't have to get out of bed! 

I rolled over, turned on the TV and watched Project Runway.
And then another episode of Project Runway.

And then I watched some other guilty pleasures shows that I won't even mention.

Earlier that week, David asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday and I told him, "Nothing."  I sincerely meant it.  And "nothing" is exactly what I did.  It was perfect.

I ended the day with a delicious dinner, two cucumber margaritas, and 2 humongous hugs.

I think I am ready for 31.

Still not an Ironman

Every year I spectate the local Ironman.  I usually know a handful of people participating.

Every year I  find it to be an interesting phenomenon how people cheer on the Ironman and think to themselves, “This is something I want to do.”

Maybe it looks like fun for the first few hours.  The energy and excitement at an Ironman start is surreal.  But, it is also cold and crowded.  I was happy that I was warm and dry and running instead.

By the middle of the day, people are starting the marathon and seem sincerely happy to be off their bikes (after 5-7 hours of cycling, who wouldn’t be happy?)  For the third year in a row, we trekked around in the jogging stroller, clapping our hands.  The kids were finally capable of saying things like, "Good job!" "Way to Go!"

It’s tricky to cheer with the stroller because I feel like we can only run against the crowd – even during an Ironman, people don’t like to be passed by a woman pushing a double stroller.

We did the same loop as last year, stopping repeatedly for some recovery.

After awhile, Brenna finished her lollipop.  Yes, yes...we moved on from cheerios to candy.  BUT, it was a dum-dum, which is almost too small to even be considered a real lollipop.  Right?
And shortly after, with a little help, Hayden finished his.

After that, I let them loose to play at the park with my Dad.

At this point, there is no "maybe" - the race does not look fun.  It looks miserable.  And tormenting.

People are limping and hobbling.  I can practically see the lactic acid pulsing through their legs.  Imagine that you are lost and walking through the desert: thirsty yet bloated, hungry yet nauseous, tired yet unable to sit down, sleepy yet unable to sleep.

You want to run up and hug them.
I watched one of my friends stagger through a water station during her last loop of the run.  She tripped but caught herself, stood in a daze for a few seconds, grabbed a water cup from the aid station and poured it on her head. (My better instinct told me she did not want a hug).  Now, if that was me, I probably would have sat and cried.  Or called a cab.  But instead, she looked up and continued to run.

I guess that is the difference between me and an Ironman.

Although, I will never say never.
At one point, I was sure I would never like coffee.
At one point, I was sure I would never be watching MTV shows when I was 30 years old.
At one point, I was sure I would never bribe my kids with free cookies at the grocery store.
So sure, I can say I will never be crazy enough to put myself through such a grueling chain of events - but who knows, maybe one day I will get bored and decide I want a new red tattoo.

We've been doing things.

I've been meaning to post for the past week - I always have a thought for a new blog entry, but by the time I have am moment to sit down and write, the thought is lost in the past and no longer seems relevant.

So, what have we been doing that has kept me so busy?

Finally, the weather has cooled down enough for us to go outside in the middle of the day.  It happened overnight.  Last Wednesday, the high was 91 - certainly more suitable than 101 or 110, but still a bit warm for lunchtime frolicking.  A coldfront or something swept through and by Saturday, the high dropped to a chilly 63.  Since then, it has stabilized at a splendid 70.

The kids really like food, so there is usually a picnic involved in the things we do.  We have been having picnics all over town.  I try to pick interesting places.  For example, next to the zoo there are some very novice hiking  trails, perfect for clumsy kids.  I am not a huge hiking fan, but just like you cannot run until you can walk, You must hike before you can trail run.

A week later, we advanced to slightly more technical trails that even had a hill:

 And a downhill.

We've seen many interesting things, but nothing was more amazing than this tire:

Hayden even felt so competent in his hiking skills that he declared he no longer needed a trail to follow.

We have also been picnicking at parks and at lakes.  Yesterday we had a picnic at Tempe Town Lake and found ourselves submerged at the Ironman expo. 

I can't believe it's already that time a year again.

Time certainly does fly when you are busy having picnics.  

Duathlons and Trick-or-Treating

These things having nothing in common except for they sound like they should be assuredly awesome but yet somehow fall appallingly short.

The duathlon sounds like a dream to me - no swimming? running twice?  On paper, it's a race specifically designed for my strengths!  But in reality, they suck (as evidenced here and here and here).

I decided to try one more time.  This race was a short race:  1.5 mile run / 10.5 mile bike / 3 mile run.  I didn't train for it since those are such comfortable distances.  The race did not go badly - I finished under an hour and won.  And when I say "won", I mean that quite literally as I finished before all the men, too.  But, before you start a slow clap, let me just add that there were only 24 other people in the race.  The 211 other people did the triathlon - which involved a 400-meter swim in a lap pool.
However, it took me 9 minutes to run 1.5 miles, and it took most of them between 6-9 minutes to do the swim, and I still was the second overall-person finisher.

Being the "best" at a particular event, however, is not the same as doing your best.  And, I had difficulty deciphering if I was pleased with my performance.  Both runs were slower than I expected, however they were unexpectedly on trails.  My bike was also slower, however there was wind.  Trails and winds inevitably slow you down and it always begs the question, Am I making an excuse?  Could I have gone faster?

But all that aside - I found the race challenging.  Maybe the trails and the wind played a role in that, but I think in the end, it is the simple fact that duathlons are hard.

Look, I don't like swimming per say, but the progression of the triathlon makes sense.  The swim is a good warm up for the bike and the bike is a good warm up for the run.  As much as I love to run, I don't love the way my legs feel after I already ran once.  I want to love it so I am sure I will eventually try to love it again.

Jumping to the completely unrelated subject of trick-or-treating, this sounds like a dream for my kids - up past bedtime?  dressed in a cool costume?  FREE CANDY?  Theoretically, it should be one of the best days in their life.  Realistically, it was filled with tantrums and tears.

First, Brenna refused to wear her costume.  She had numerous costumes to choose from that she enjoyed wearing during the pre-Halloween festivities...like her dinosaur costume, fairy costume and princess costume:

After begging her to get to dressed,

threatening her to get dressed,

not allowing her outside until she got dressed,

we finally gave in and allowed her trick-or-treat sans costume.  Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do to make the screaming stop.

Hayden wanted to put on his costume but did not want to trick-or-treat.  After only two houses, he requested to go home.  I convinced him to go around the block, which he did....very very slowly.  Not only did he walk at a snails pace, he kept tripping and spilling his candy.

After 30 minutes, Dad carried him home.

  

 I am not sure the kids totally understood the concept of trick-or-treating.  Even though we only covered a single block, every house was generous and we accumulated a decent stash of chocolates, fruity candies and Twizzlers.  Yet, my kids have not ASKED FOR A SINGLE PIECE.

Part of me gives them the side-eye as I question, Are these really my spawn?

And part of me wants to hug them and kiss them because now this big bag of candy is undoubtedly mine and I don't even have to steal it. 

Brenna's New Shoes

After "losing" the car sandals, I decided it was time for Brenna to get a pair of running shoes, too.  Her shoe of choice lately has been a pair of green crocs that previously belonged to Hayden.  I hate these shoes for a few reasons.

1) They are ugly.  I bought them because they were cheap and I bought them for a boy.

2) They make her feet stink.

The initial appeal of the shoe was that Brenna was able to put it on and take it off without assistance.   I never thought that it would become a non-negotiable staple in her wardrobe.  

Shoe shopping seemed like the ideal activity for our weekly mother-daughter Tuesday outing.  At first, Brenna did not want to go.  Even though Brenna has a very strong opinion about her outfit every day, she has not shown any interest in shopping - so I was not surprised when she refused to get into the car.  However, I reminded her of Hayden's running shoes.  The fact that he had running shoes, and she did not, had taunted her all week. 

I promised her pink running shoes and she agreed to go.  I was ecstatic.  Shoe shopping is one of my guilty pleasures.

I took her to Payless and told her the coveted words that every daughter hopes their mother will say:  Pick something!  Anything!  I will buy you whatever you want.

Payless had a lot of sneakers that I was sure Brenna would love:  sneakers with rainbows and butterflies! princess sneakers that light up!  Dorah the Explorer sneakers! 

But the shoe that captivated Brenna was a very sparkly mary jane:

Not only was this not a running shoe, it was not a comfortable shoe.

And, it was not a shoe that they carried in her size.

Look, I get it.  I love sparkly shoes.  If ever a mother hoped their daughter would want sparkly shoes, that mother is me.  But I just couldn't bring myself to buy shoes that did not feet her feet. 

The end result was me dashing out of the store, clenching Brenna, who was clenching her green crocs.  Luckily the tantrum ended shortly after we started driving home.  Shocked by the silence, I started to tell Brenna about the best shoe store in the entire world:  Amazon.com.

Together, we perused pages and pages of pink toddler shoes until Brenna picked something out. They were pink.  They were sparkly.  They were perfect.

And, after an exuberant shipping fee, they arrived at our doorstep 2 business days later.

The first thing Brenna did was compare her new shoes to Hayden's  used and dirty shoes.  She was pleased.

Brenna has since worn her new shoes on multiple outings.  Like Costco.

And the Arizona State Fair (we used our passes).  She was very good about not stepping in any animal poop. 

I think the kids liked the fair.  I was surprised when the both wanted to go on the biggest ride that the fair offered - the grand Ferris wheel.  You can't see my left arm but it's firmly gripping the seat.  Unlike my three year olds, I don't like heights.

AZ State Fair 5K

I don't really like writing race reports too many days post the race - all the magic and memories quickly dissipate once I return to real life.  Although I would describe this specific race as more mediocre than magical.

Aside from a 5K three weeks ago, I have not done any speedwork since the beginning of August.  So, I wasn't expecting too much from this race...I just knew it was going to be a fun race because it was at the state fair.  I love the fair!  I also knew it would be a great race to distribute my SunRype bars, since there would be a lot of kids and people like this:

The race was at 8 a.m. and the fair opens at 10.  I did my warm up around the empty fair, inspecting the rides and the different food offerings.

The race was only $22 and you received four passes to the fair.  Each pass is worth $10 so it's almost like they pay you to do the race.  I will be bringing my kids next weekend but one thing is for sure - we won't be eating!   An ice cream cone, the size you get at McDonalds for $1, cost FIVE DOLLARS.

I could tell during my warm up that it was not going to be my best day.  But it was a free race so I was just going to go with it and enjoy it.

I was disappointed in the course.  Aside from starting and ending at the fair, it was very boring.  And there was wind.  We know I hate wind.


My first mile was 6:02, which is a standard first mile.  Unlike my race three weeks ago, it did not feel easy.  Mile 2 was 6:05 and also did not feel easy.  Mile 3, which was in the wind, was 6:15.  Ouch.

The course was short (3.04) so my time was 18:43 but it would have really been 19:03 on an accurate course.  I came in 2nd place.

I brought home a new stuffed animal.
His name is Dos Ajos for obvious reasons.

Our previous Panda only had one eye:

And, I swear, I did not remove his eye for Halloween.  He has always been missing an eye.

I also did not decapitate Mr. Wonderful's head.  One day I found his body in Hayden's room.  A few days layer, his head was located in the ballpit.  

Anyway, this race reminded me that I have two upcoming races:
a duathlon in two weeks and a triathlon in four weeks.

As previously stated, I have not been doing speed work.  Nor have been been doing bricks.  Or bike rides.
I kept thinking, I don't need to worry about these races...they are not until November.

But yet here it is - the end of October.

It's not like I have not been running - I have been running a lot, with very talented, amazing and interesting people.   These people have seen things, done things and know things.  For the first time in a long time, I feel like I am learning things.  But alas, if you don't use your speed, you lose your speed.

After the race, there was a kids race.  This is standard and I have been waiting for the day when my kids would participate.  And by participate, I mean actually move from Point A to Point B.  I passed out fruit bars to the kids and took note that a lot of them were three years old.  There was even a two year old!  There was no reason why my kids could not do this.

Well, except one reason.
I am not sure if you have noticed, but in every recent picture of Hayden, he is wearing a pair of car sandals.  In rain or shine, he is devoted to these shoes.

And yes, they are doing yoga in Home Depot.

It is an acceptable sandal.  But not an acceptable running shoe.

I had a pair of shoes for Hayden, it was just that he refused to wear them.  With winter approaching, I knew his feet would require socks.  And I was dreading having the kid who wore socks with sandals.  Inspired by the kid race, I knew it was time to make a move.

We "lost" the car sandals.

They were not in his room, they were not in the playroom, they were not in the living room nor under the couch.  

There was a small fall festival at the nearby church and Hayden wanted to go.  But, he could not go without shoes!  Forced with the decision to stay home with no shoes or wear running shoes, he wore his running shoes.  Although reluctant at first, he was easily impressed with how easy it was to run away from me.

Luckily my camera has good zoom.  As usual, he found something gross to lick. 

The bounce house.

Different shoe, same boy.