Thursday, April 19, 2012

More Mud


Yesterday I finally bought myself a pair of real trail running shoes.  I’m not certain why I, erm, dragged my feet (cough) on this particular purchase.  After all, when I started this blog, I had just taken a tumble in the woods and broken my hand.  I did get new shoes (with a lot of help from my friends), but they weren’t actually trail shoes.  I’ve been running on dirt trails as often as possible since I started running, so it makes no sense that I haven’t invested in the proper equipment.  

Warning:  this is the running nerd paragraph--if you aren't a running nerd, you may want to skip to the next section.  I bought a pair of Saucony Peregrines, which are described on the Saucony website as being a neutral shoe.  The helpful guy at the closest running store said that since trail shoes offer more stability in general, I didn’t really need anything more (since I’m a mild overpronator).  I was tempted by a pair of Brooks Cascadias, but when I was running they felt nearly identical to the Peregrines.  Since I loved my other pairs of Saucony shoes so much and they’ve held up so well, I ultimately decided to stick with my brand.  (Also, the helpful guy said he personally preferred the Saucony trail shoes.)




Very serious, no excuses shoes.  I wore them out of the store and went to the closest place with dirt trails and ran a little over 4 miles in them.  It had been raining for nearly 24 hours, so everything was nice and soggy at the park.  You should see how these things handle mud—I cruised through the squishy parts like they were hard ground!  They are lighter and stiffer than the shoes I’m used to, but it didn’t take too long to get used to the feel of them.  I did have a hot spot on my heel by the end of the run, but my socks and shoes were soaked for the second half of the run (the trail I took crosses a couple of creeks in addition to all the rain and mud), plus they were brand new.  Hopefully after another run or two, that won’t be a problem.  After all, these are supposed to be my half-marathon shoes!  

And speaking of the half-marathon………you are all invited to come out and holler for me on Cinco de Mayo!  The race starts at 9:00 and it will probably take me at least two hours to finish, so you have plenty of time to get there.   Bring your best cheerleading yells and help me celebrate!


No comments:

Post a Comment