I’ve been avoiding running because I didn’t have new shoes, while at the same time avoiding buying new shoes because I didn’t seem to run anymore. Obviously, I set that situation up so that I could continue doing nothing, but I finally got up the nerve to break the cycle and ordered some new shoes. Brooks doesn’t make the Ravenna 3 anymore, so I ordered the same size in a Ravenna 5. They arrived on Friday and I spent some time trying to figure out the best way to lace them up in a fashion similar to how my old shoes are laced.
They don’t tell you this when you start into running, but you don’t lace up your running shoes the way you have been taught to lace up shoes all your life. Oh no. You have to do some fancy maneuvers so that when you pull your laces to tie your shoes it doesn’t mess everything up down the line. I don’t fully understand it, but I think it has to do with buying shoes that are bigger than your feet when you’re not running… then tightening up the top so your feet don’t slide around too much while you’re getting going. Eventually enough blood goes down to your feet that they expand and fill your shoes. So I had to work out how to lace them up. I had hoped to just copy what I had setup on my old shoes, but the new pair has an extra set of holes… my whole system was off. The first few times I didn’t even have enough lace left to tie anything.
I did eventually figure something out and then I got to try them out this morning. Yes, I said morning. It’s nice and cool in the mornings here, so it’s the perfect time to run. I headed out a little before 8. I guess that’s later than most people start running around here. I didn’t see any bikes or runners the whole time. I doubt I’ll ever get up much earlier than that, but you never know.
I’m not used to running in the morning. I don’t know if I should eat anything or drink anything before I go out there. I decided pretty quickly that I should have had something to drink. Just a few hundred yards into the “run” and I was completely dried out. My legs were also wasted by then. Needless to say, I’m totally out of shape already. So I walked a bit and jogged a bit as I worked my way in and out of residential streets in my neighborhood. I have no idea where most of them go, but they were nice and quiet.
I eventually made it back home. My legs are jello. I think I need a day or two to recover. But at least I got out there and the best part… my achilles isn’t in pain. It’s a little tight, but I think that’s to be expected. But no pain. W00t.
(no link to activity details, because runkeeper.com no longer shows anything to non-members… very dickish)