One word Wednesday

Mezamashii

New shoes and shopping weirdness

Modeling my new Nikes

Today is a good news / bad news day in the retail world.

Good news: My new shoes arrived in the mail today!

(There were two pairs of Black Friday deals I just couldn't resist... because I buy new running shoes every 3-5 months anyway, and unlike industrial-sized jars of mayonaise from Costco, shoes don't go rancid if you buy in bulk.)

The first box I opened was the Nike Air Pegasus+ 28s.

These Nikes might win the award for the most horribly ugly running shoes I've ever worn. (Sorry, Nike. But seriously -- what were you thinking? These shoes look like something Punky Brewster would have worn...)

But, as I've said before, running is a race, not a fashion show.

I took my new Nikes out for a test run at lunch. The shoes felt good, but I'm going to hold off on a "review." 1.5 miles isn't quite far enough to get a good feel for the shoes, plus the weather was crisp and dry today (unlike yesterday) -- so any run would have felt good. I don't want to rave about the fit until I've got some miles on these shoes. But my initial reaction is that they give my toes plenty of room, and nothing felt "off," so I suspect these shoes and I will get along just fine.

Bad news: A funny thing happened at the market today...

Source: digital.library.okstate.edu via Kori on Pinterest

This morning, before work, I went to the grocery store to replenish the household stock of non-Thanksgiving fruits and vegetables. I purchased a cart-load of fresh veggies. (For some reason, the Monday after Thanksgiving makes me drool over salad greens. Maybe the chunk of pumpkin cheesecake I had for "dinner" last night has something to do with that, but I digress...)

My produce bonanza included some of my favorites: beets, asparagus, bananas, endive, and an English cucumber (among other things).

At checkout, the clerk picked up my cucumber to scan it, and said:

"Wow. Why do you buy this? These things are expensive!"

Um?
WTF?
(Maybe we have found the real reason I don't like shopping around the holidays...)
I was too dumbfounded to even reply.
(Though, trust me, I've thought of plenty of zingers since then!)

What is the proper etiquette for dealing with an uppity cashier?
and
Why is it that I think of the best comebacks only after it's way too late to use them?

I don't do Black Friday unless...

Normally I don't do Black Friday.
I get creeped out by the stories of customers trampling or pepper-spraying each other in a rush to save $20.
Seriously, isn't health and safety worth more than twenty dollars?

But this year Hubby and I had a minor break from our tradition of staying home, eating leftovers, and running a few miles to burn off that extra slice of pumpkin cheesecake.

Before you roll your eyes at me, let me explain!

The Exchange (military department store) has a 25% off sale on all shoes. Which means ALL RUNNING SHOES. And Exchange prices are rock bottom to begin with. Add in a promo that includes free shipping (read: no fighting in store lines!) and you've got two runners who were ready to break their Black Friday No Shopping tradition.

I tried to fight the lure of Black Friday deals, but Mama needs a new pair of shoes!

(Seriously, Hubby and I buy 3 pairs of running shoes each, per year. How could we not buy our 2012 pairs at half the normal retail price? That would have been like turning down the $55 discount at Rock 'n' Roll NOLA.)

So I broke down and bought a pair of Brooks Ghost 4s and a pair of Nike Air Pegasus+ 28s (which are ugly, I'll admit, but running is a race not a fashion show...).

My Mizuno Wave Rider 14s shredded my feet like a cheese grater earlier this month, so it's time to switch styles. And lest you think I'm crazy enough to buy shoes completely untested just because they're on sale, I have run in both the Brooks and the Nikes before. I'll post reviews when they arrive...

Are you a Black Friday shopper?
I avoid the mall like the plague from Thanksgiving until the second week of January... but I'm willing to take advantage of an online deal as long as it's for something that was on the household shopping list before it went on sale.

Best of the web

This week, I came across a handful of web gems, and just had to share.

Have you ever wondered how many pounds of turkey the average American eats? Well wonder no more... Data Insights let's you know that we eat 13.3 pounds of turkey per capita, and we grow more than a billion pounds of pumpkins! This blog is filled with other fun (and sometimes disturbing) facts, like: more than half of working adults expect to check work email on major holidays.

Maybe if you keep your family talking about these stats, you can divert them from other fun Thanksgiving dinner questions like "Why aren't you married yet?" and "When are you going to have kids?"

Speaking of inappropriate questions... Meg, at Watch MeGoRun, shares her personal pet peeves about people who can't mind their own business.

On the other side of the sharing-personal-information spectrum... In his 1,000th post, Adam, at The Boring Runner, reflects on more than four years of blogging, what he's learned, and who takes his photos (including the overly personal ones). PS - He's giving away shoes to celebrate his 1000th post!

Speaking of running shoes... I think I'm mad at XLMIC for making me want a new, ruby-red pair of Mizunos. I don't normally covet shoes. But they're my brand/model. And they're not boring white!
Must... resist... urge... to shop!

And... It's shopping season! (Or not...)
Tired of the Black Friday media blitz already?
Take a year off and have a White Friday instead.

Last, but certainly not least, if you need a reminder that there are amazing random acts of kindness that happen all around us every day... Read Tricia's "Go Buy Your Family Dinner" story. If your eyes don't well up with tears of joy, I'll be surprised...

Happy reading!

Race Report: Pensacola Half

The start: Gorgeous sunrise. Insane port-o-potty lines. 5 minutes late on the start...

The course - bad: The course was not "closed" which I disliked heartily. At every intersection there were police officers and Marines directing traffic (good!) and often letting cars go between clusters of runners (bad!). I saw one car nearly hit a runner as the driver pulled into a parking lot. In addition to being unsafe, it was totally gross (think lots and lots of truck exhaust).

Also, I don't think I've ever seen a race with less crowd support. (Note to spectators - You're already there. It doesn't cost you anything to cheer for everyone. Seriously.)

The course - good: The course was flat. Not pancake flat (there were a few steep little hills here and there) but the lowest elevation was about 10' and the highest was about 85'. Flat. There were also aid stations every 2 miles or so. I always run with my own hydration, but it's nice to know course support is there if I need it.

Also, for those who did cheer, I saw some absolutely fantastic signs, including:

"Stop reading this sign and keep running!"

The finish: Plenty of goodies and space for finishers to stretch out and recover. The race organizers provided water, fruit, and sandwiches. Local businesses handed out free pastries, pulled pork, red beans and rice, beer, and a bunch of other stuff that I'm forgetting. I mostly remember the beer.

Does anyone make race photos look good?

There were a couple of massage therapists giving post-race massages, but addict though I am, I cannot bring myself to subject a massage therapist to my post-race sweat. It just seems unkind.

The DJ at the start/finish area was also pretty awesome, playing a good mix of pop and oldies. Hubby and I even danced to a couple of songs (that was while the adrenaline was still working, I fell sound asleep once it wore off).

My race: I did exactly what I set out to do -- 10 minute miles through the entire race. It was not my best half ever. I finished squarely in the middle of the pack. However, after struggling with weeks of hip pain and deciding at the last minute to wear brand new shoes on race-day, I was pretty sure I'd have a bad race. So finishing strong felt great.

I filled my iPod with a couple of hours worth of songs, and focused on each little stretch of road in front of me. The Dog Days Are Over got me through more than a couple of miles... Run fast for your mother fast for your father...


I only really struggled though the last couple of miles (but if it's not hard at some point, you aren't trying hard enough).

I do wonder, though, if there was something in my coffee this morning, because I felt absolutely no pain. Tight lungs, fatigued muscles, but no pain.

And then... I took my new shoes off...

Hello bloody blisters!

My feet look like they went through a meat grinder! (I will spare you the pictures.)

What I wonder is: How the F*** did I not feel those during the race?!? I knew wearing new shoes was a risk. But I didn't feel the blisters at all during the run.

My feet hurt like hell now and I'll be walking around in flip-flops for at least a couple of days. But during the race - not so much as a tickle.

Maybe the new shoes weren't such a bad idea after all?

How many of you think that as long as your race went well, the pain afterward is just a temporary annoyance?
C'mon. Be honest.

Race plan: do everything wrong

T-minus 2 days and counting to my first half marathon in nearly two years. (My goodness. Has it really been that long?)

This is not to say that I haven't been racing. I have! But my races have been shorter distances - half a dozen 5ks (placing in 2) plus 10k and relay races. I spent two years focusing on speedwork. Then I got smacked with a Florida summer and barely kept my running head above water. I only really started building my distance back up two months ago.

All of this means: There is no way Sunday will be a PR. I wasn't training to make it a personal record kind of day. I signed up to get my butt motivated for Sunday morning long runs. That goal has been thoroughly accomplished.

This also means that I have no real race goals or ego issues for Sunday's run. But... Perhaps I've taken my lackadaisical attitude a bit too far, because I plan to race in brand new shoes.

I know. I know. Every running rule book starts with: "No new shoes or new clothes for your race!"
Hell, my own rule book starts with that rule!
But look at that broke-a$$ pair of shoes on the right. They have almost 700 miles on them. I should have started breaking in the new Mizunos sooner. I admit my error there. But for my feets' sake (and for my hip!) I refuse to race 13 miles in the old pair. So instead, I'll be racing in a pair of shoes I've worn for... wait for it... 6 whole miles!

At this point, the brand new shoes issue is so ridiculous that I've started plotting what other race-day "no no's" rules I can break and use this as a sort-of science experiment... I mean: how many races will I have in my life when I don't care what my pace is as long as I finish?

So... Should I:

• Get a last-minute massage from a therapist I've never been to before? Oh wait... I've got that appointment in a couple of hours!
• Leave my watch at home? This is mighty tempting...
• Buy new shorts at the expo and run in those? Also tempting!
• Run without Body Glide? Because that worked so well last time...
• Celebrate the night before the race with a bottle of champagne, a pack of cigarettes, and some spicy Thai food? Because, you know, I'll wake up Sunday morning feeling GREAT for the race with a hangover, hacking cough, and port-o-potty "issues."
• Do a track workout right before I go to the race expo? I can test myself to see how much of a beating my quads can really take!
• Run my 5k pace for the first couple of miles to build up some "banked time?" Ha! That never works! All the more reason to try it...

What race-day rules have you always wanted to break?
Have you ever raced in brand new shoes?

Book review on the run: Bad Shoes & The Women Who Love Them

Given the barefoot running craze, I thought it would be interesting to explore the other side of the sartorial spectrum. I picked up Bad Shoes & The Women Who Love Them and devoured the book in a single flight.

I was fascinated by the chapters on foot physiology and the damage constant high-heel wear does to tendons and calf muscles. But I have to admit that I was not pleased by the utterly bizzare chapter on the Freudian sexuality of feet (chapter 6). If you read the book, you'll know what I mean. I was scratching my head, wondering "Where is she going with this?" But then again, I've never been a fan of Freud's theories.

Freud aside, this book was well researched and well written. The author, Leora Tanenbaum, is not a bra-burning extremeist. Rather, she suggests that we should treat our heels like candy - reserving them for special occasions, instead of indulging all day every day. Because just like too much candy is bad for our health, long term high-heel wearing can have some deleterious effects including (gross out alert!) bunions, corns, shortened tendons, and a host of other problems - all of which (not incidentally) are bad for runners.

I gave up my heels a few years ago (except for a recent calf-strain incident, in which wearing heels allowed me to walk without having to painfully flex my foot). My fancy, pinchy, pretty-heeled shoes were noticeably affecting my running. So out they went!

This book made me feel better about my choice to swap my stilettos out for sandals and ballet flats for everyday wear. The best quote:

The practice (of wearing heels) proves that one is able to handle pain and exert a sense of control and discipline over her body, demonstrating a perverse kind of strength.

The sociologist in me recalls all the times I have listened to women (myself included) talk about how our heels make us feel powerful, sexy, and strong. Heck, there's even a new song titled "Hell On Heels" by the Pistol Annies.

But when it comes right down to it, I'd rather feel strong running 400s at the track.


If you enjoyed this post, you might also like my review of Wonder Girl: The Magnificent Sporting Life of Babe Didrikson Zaharias.


Photo courtesy of: The State Library of New South Wales