Us strange runners

Not a lot going on lately. I've been keeping up with running every other day, and my leg/knee/ITB all seem content.

I did take an extra day off on Wednesday, but opted to do a nice lengthy hill walk instead of running. I've been wanting to do hill runs (I know, so weird), but figured that was a better approach to getting something like that in.

On Thursday, there was a hellacious storm that was going to come through. I proved, once again, to my wife that I am a nut, and went out anyway. The weather was hot and humid, and the wind was fierce. Big dark clouds on the horizon, dancing with internal light. A storm was a-comin'.

Of course, while out there, I saw another runner, and we gave each other the knowing nod & smile. I mean, what nuts would be out there with a thunderstorm on the horizon? Me and him. Us strange runners. (You know you'd be out there too.) He was a pro.. he had a Camelbak on. I saw that and was wondering, "Hmm.. what's in there?" I probably would have taken a sip, it was so humid out. (I could have brought my own, but alas.. I didn't.)

Other than that, the run went well. I lengthened my run time and was a bit more methodical in mixing in the Galloway walk breaks. It was a run one mile, walk one minute ratio. All in all, the run went well, and the pace was still pretty decent. I made it home, dry and un-electrocuted.



Has anyone tried the 'Tacos at Midnight' flavor of Doritos? (I know, not exactly healthy eating fare, but that's how I roll.) All I have to say is this.. they nailed it. Totally good taco flavor on a chip.

I tried the 'Last Call Jalepeno Popper' flavor, and it was ok, but not stellar. The taco flavor, though.. Wow. Really good. Definitely worth picking up a second bag. Takes me back to the days of eating at Taco Maker, which is no longer in our area (and hasn't been for years and years. :( ).

Alright everyone, have a great weekend. Keep on rockin'.

New Balance 992s

A while back, I was fortunate enough to be chosen to be sponsored by New Balance of Harrisburg. The deal was, a free pair of shoes, provided I post a review of the shoes (and a link to them, of course).

Today's that day!



I wound up picking out the 992 shoes.

So, what do I think?

The first thing that hit me was the styling. The first thing that came to mind was the early to mid 80s and the Kangaroo sneaks I used to have. You know, the shoes with pockets? (I think mine were even velcro. Oh yeah!)

It's the whole suede thing, really. But, I'm not the go-to guy on being up to date on fashion matters, anyway. Plus, I knew they had suede on them when I ordered them.

(One last side note.. Did you know that KangaROOS are still going strong? I had absolutely no idea.)


So, the shoe. I picked this shoe because I believe I have a pronation issue, and I'm looking to find something to help out with that. In general, the outside of my heel and the inside of the toebox are worn out first. I have a moderate to high arch, and wide ass ugly feet. Anything that can help my running, I'm willing to give it a shot.

I haven't been able to take these on a run longer than 3 or 4 miles, due to my ITBS issues, so I can't really go into detail on how these perform on a long run.

The first thing I noticed after putting the shoes on is that they have a lot of cushion. I'm all about the cushion. Even while running, you can feel cushioned.

The shoes are sturdy. They look like they'll hold up longer than some. No 300 miles and they're done. They really look solid and well built (and feel it too).

So, after doing runs in them, what do I think? The cushioning is still there. Lovin' that. I think they've helped somewhat with my pronation. The heel area is worn down, but definitely not as much as with other shoes. To that end, when I run in these shoes, the insides of my ankles feel somewhat strained. I'm guessing that has to do with my pronation being slightly different, and I'm just not used to it. That's purely a guess though.

Practically speaking, these shoes have ultra wide laces, and, as a result, don't seem to become untied magically mid-run. I like that. (I always double knot, but still..)

End result, I like the shoes. I'll probably hold off picking up another pair, until I've tried a bunch of other types of shoes. (This is my "playing the field" time with my shoes.) But, if someone was thinking about the shoes, I certainly would give them positive press.

Thanks to NB of Harrisburg for this opportunity!