I am ... doing okay

Well, after Wednesday night's calf cramps, I had to take the rest of the week off from hard physical exercise. I could barely walk Thursday morning; by the end of day, my right calf felt normal again, but the left was still felt like I'd torn something in my calf. By the next morning, the pain had radiated down to my ankle and up to the back of my knee; by Friday night, it had spread even further upward. Fortunately, over the weekend, the pain subsided completely, which let me get back on the road today.

I wish I'd done my running yesterday, as I dawdled getting out of the house today and wound up running during the hottest part. It was 83 degrees for most of my run. I headed straight up and went across the Brooklyn Bridge; my goal was Union Square, but I called a halt after crossing the bridge. (It was nice and cool up there!) I was so overheated and already out of fluid. I bought a Gatorade and a power bar, but that isn't an instant fix for stomach cramps brought on by improper before-run hydration. Stupid Cris. Well, all was not lost. It was a surprisingly good run except right at the end, and my legs didn't give me trouble at all, though they were tired. I put in 4.8 miles, as measured on gmaps, in 58 minutes.

I finally found my Nano when I was cleaning my apartment saturday, so I ran with that and the new shoe sensor I'd ordered while on my big trip. It worked great, but as it read out a distance of 5.76 miles, I knew it needed some calibration!



I proceeded up to Paragon Sports to buy a new pair of running shoes. I wanted to take advantage of tax-free weekend and my NYRR members discount. I also picked up some new bar wrap for my bicycle, including gel inserts, and considered the various types of clip-in pedals. If I go that route, and I do think I want to, it will be a real investment, even for beginner's clips. I think, though, I can do better research in a real bicycle store and then get some stuff online for a much better price.

So I resolved to calibrate my ipod today and waited until the worst of the heat was over, then went out running again. It was only a mile, but it was the first time I've ever done two runs in one day, at least that I can remember. And this mile was steadily-paced, no walking. So I'm pretty happy with that. I'm even happier that I wasn't pushing the pace at all (didn't want to start coughing and have to slow to a walk while calibrating) and still managed a sub-10 minute pace.

So, here's the new shoes.



I got new laces to go with them, too! The regular ones are white, but these, by SofSole, are dark blue and light blue edges - perfect to go with the shoes. Much more manly, too. No more, "hey, nice shoes Cris! Or should I say, 'CRISSY'??" from the peanut gallery. Now I'm a stud in my matching shoes, shoelaces, and Team Boomer running gear. And the fact that this DOES match the TB logo is pure coincidence, I swear. I'm not actually looking to be color-coordinated, really.

So. Not QUITE the seven mile long run I had planned, but nevertheless a good running day. I am doing a show this week, so I don't know if I'll be able to put in my Wednesday run, but I will try. I'm eager to see if the ipod calibration turns out better results.

BTW, if you've been thinking of getting a Nano and the Nike+ kit, hold off a bit. Apple is scheduled to make some announcement on wednesday and it is widely believed they'll be announcing a 3rd gen Nano. If so, it may be time for me to upgrade. I need more storage anyhow. Or if you can't hold off or want a cheap Nano, go to the Apple Store (online) and find the Refurbished section - they have 2GB silver nanos for $99.