Why hello, old friend Steps

The weather has been so bizarre lately, particularly in the past week or so. In the course of an hour, one might see rain, snow, hail, sun, clouds. Today, the temps were around 70 glorious degrees, and the day started off rather sunny. Unfortunately, just before I headed to school to pick up my kid, the sky turned gray. Not wanting to waste a warm day but fearful of getting caught in the rain, I decided to run the steps. I figured if the rain came, I would be only a few-minute walk to my car, and if I got too tired, I could stop, again, just a short distant to my car.

Initially, I was planning to run up and down 10 times, figuring there was no use pushing it when my legs had not run steps in about 4.5 months. But after I got through the first 10 without any pain (at a decent, though not fast, pace), I decided 15 would not be a problem. And when I realized I had another seven or eight minutes to kill, I decided I might as well go for 20. And 20 sets I did, at 65 steps up and down, for a grand total of 2,600 steps. Whew! Or, even better, Woo(-hoo)!

I searched the blog to try to figure out how long it took me to run up and down 20 times the last time, but, alas, I came up empty. Although I feel as if I have definitely done it in less time, I am just going to have to be satisfied with my 17:30, particularly since I did it without stopping and without pain. I also did about 20 laps at the pool yesterday, so yeah, me!

Now if only I could summon some resolve to get a run in before too long.

New shoes

Nike has always been my running shoe of choice. I went with New Balance one year because I noticed the winning team in the Steelers 5k all ran in New Balance, so I promptly went out and bought a pair. Of course, most companies/manufacturers make dozens upon dozens of running shoes, ranging in price from about $30 to over $200 (though most fall in the $50 to $100 price range), so buying by brand does not necessarily guarantee you a good shoe.

Yesterday, I decided to check out Kohl's "lowest prices of the season" sale for running shoes. I typically go by looks, then price. After not finding some Nike's I liked in my size, I came upon an Asics shoe, the Gel Enduro 5. The price was right (just over $33 on sale, from $65), and I liked the gray and fuchsia coloring. But what sold me on this shoe was the feeling. The shoes were so cushiony that everything I tried on after paled in comparison. I was talking to a woman who had recently started running and told her about the shoe. She too was a Nike person, but after trying on the Asics, she went with the same pair.

I am not entirely sure if I am ready to break out the shoes yet. Most running experts recommend replacing shoes every 250 to 500 miles, depending on your weight, running style, and running surface. Assuming I have run about 5 miles a week most weeks since September, I should have logged less than 200 miles. But I also wear my shoes most days while doing errands and taking walks once or twice a week. And I do run outside and probably pretty hard while going downhill.

I will let you know how they turn out. In the meantime, I am happy to report that on Tuesday, I managed to get my first mile down to 10 minutes. My second (easier) mile was about 10:25, so not as much progress there.

Not feeling motivated

I had a decent run on Wednesday of this week. I forgot my mp3 player, but that did not seem to affect me too much, other than I felt kind of bored as I ran. I run up and down the same street, which makes me wonder if I should change the blog to "Running up and down the same street." Less catchy title, for sure, but more accurate. Regardless, I am not so bored that I am ready to pick another route; that beginning hill gets me every time, so shouldn't I master that before moving on? And I hate to pick a more flat route, thus taking out some of the challenge.

I should run today, now that I am back on my two-a-week run cycle, or so I thought. I just cannot motivate myself to put on the layers and running gear. And the gray skies are not helping. Unfortunately, I also need to stop at a funeral home after my run/when I pick up my kid, and I feel a little funny walking in with running pants and matted hair. Maybe I will just walk a little today, as I did yesterday. Speaking of boring...