I am dissatisfied

...with today's performance.

A month ago, I was toying with the idea of doing today's CityTri duathlon held in Prospect Park. Even last night, I was toying with the idea; not fully committed, but prepared enough that I stripped my bicycle of its rack and lights. Well, 5 a.m. rolled around and I really didn't feel like getting up. I have not slept well this weekend; I am concerned about these 992s; I wasn't too thrilled with the weather. The clincher was that I didn't want to do anything to screw up next weekends Healthy Kidney 10K. Until that race is over, everything is optional and sticking to game plan is sacrosanct. Moving up to duathlons will have to wait.

But I also didn't do my long run, either. I'd planned eight miles, but found it the most supremely difficult task just to get out of the house today. The weather affects my energy level more than I'd like it to. But out I did get, again taking nothing with me but the bare essentials. I decided to take the subway to the park and do one good-effort loop and then run down to C-town to get groceries. A 4-miler as a compromise, see?

On the way to the subway, I tried one of the new Accel Gels, the Strawberry-Kiwi. This is gross, this product is. Let's start with the unappetizing puke color. It is an unpleasant shade of barbie-skin pink and is opaque, not translucent, like you expect gels to be. The taste is definitely strawberry-kiwi, but with a chemical aftertaste that had me scraping my tongue with my teeth afterward. Nasty. But it is possible it did it's job, as I had plenty of energy later. On the other hand, that could have been the regular coffee I had while in the subway. (It was only mid-50s out and I wore shorts and a long-sleeve t, nothing else to keep me warm.)

The run itself was a solid performance. Not great, not even good, but OK. My coughing is up and so is sputum production, but only a minor bit. The park was uncrowded and my run was steady and consistent (which is very important, I think). The big hill didn't slow me down and in fact, the 3.35 mile loop felt more like two miles. THAT is a good sign! I ran on down to C-town and proceeded to get some dinner-type foods.

Shoes. During the run, I concentrated on what was happening down in the foot area. I discovered that my ankles are practically leaving the shoe. Remember, I'd loosened the lacing in a previous run and that alleviated the shin splints. But now, something is too loose. Because of this, I'm not breaking the midline of the sole and getting the shoes comfortable - with my ankle going up, the sole is free to remain rigid and un-broken-in. OK. After the run, I adjusted the lacing a bit to be a little tighter in the ankles and I think my next run will show some improvement in how the shoes feel.

Doesn't matter. After the 10K, I'm going in to JackRabbit sports on 7th ave and getting my run analyzed and have Tim or Todd help me find a pair more suited to my feet.

After groceries, I went shopping at PepBoys for the items needed to start stripping and re-painting my motorcycles tank and fenders. That took some time and when I stepped out - the sun had finally appeared. My mood noticeably improved; I wish it had come out earlier.