The continuing adventure of finding the right pair of running shoes

I'm still alive.  And running (somewhat). And doing other stuff like yoga and, this term, pilates (which I really like and has turned out to be really helpful).

And still looking for that perfect pair of running shoes.

Right now I'm in a happy relationship with my current pair of Saucony Kinvara 5.  They are so light and they are extremely comfy.  I've not run in them on concrete a lot so I don't know how they will fare out in the summer time (honestly when did I get them?), but on the whole they are on the more minimal and less supportive side of the shoe rainbow.  Which was one of the reasons why I waited almost a year between reading the first (rave) review about them and finally getting a pair.

In December I was in Boston for a play and on the way there I stopped by the Marathon store to see if the nice people there would have any new insight into my (current line of) perfect running shoes.  This stemmed from a panic episode I had earlier that year over the fact that Saucony no longer sells Kinvara 5s and instead only carries Kinvara 6s.  Honestly my feet really can't tell the difference between 5 and 6 from just trying the 6 on for 2 minutes in the store, but since they are new, they were more expensive and my wallet didn't like it.  And since my feet are kind of strange I didn't want to take the chance of having to go through a whole new cycle of finding another pair of good running shoes so I tried to search elsewhere for another pair of 5 that I could squirrel away.  I finally managed to find a brand new pair on eBay that was also my size and I pretty much paid the same price as my first pair, but at that point I didn't even care anymore, because instead of being leftover bargains they've become antiques and collectibles.  This is really annoying.  From a business perspective I can understand why shoe companies would want to come up with new models every season to sell to avid runners, but at the same time the changes they make are not always for the better and we runners don't really want to spend the time and effort and money to constantly worry about what shoes are the best.  And for people with weird feet like me (I can't wear any Nike shoes and my right foot is just way pickier and more prone to strange injuries), it's extra time consuming.

So i went to that store.  The store clerk lady was extremely nice and friendly and helpful and in the end we decided that the Saucony Hurricane Iso is a good fit for me.  I didn't buy them in the end because I still have two pairs of Kinvara 5s I need to run through and I didn't want to pay full price for shoes (now they are in a sweet spot of being bargain but not quite vintage state because the Hurricane Iso 2 is out, and I'm seriously debating whether I want to get a pair).  In the end I got a pair of Superfeet insoles (which I don't like anymore and are now sitting pathetically in the back corner of my gym locker).  I was shown them because I was told that the Kinvaras, which I love, has basically no support and for someone with my weight and feet I need arch support.  I was (and still) am confused because on the one hand I'm so happy in my no-support shoes and so far I have no Kinvara-related injuries, but on the other hand I'm afraid if it's a time bomb waiting to go off because of the lack of support my running shoes carry.  Right now I'm really not running that much so it's not a big problem but when it gets warmer and I'm running longer and harder on harder ground maybe it would come back and haunt me.

Plus now I don't even remember what was so great about the Hurricane Isos other than they didn't feel weird when I tried them on and ran half a block in them.

But then again, the first time I went into the Marathon store I came out with the conclusion that Brooks Dyad (7) was a good fit for me.  I have wide feet and need support and the Brooks were like a pair of tanks for my feet.  I ended up getting them online and ran in them for about a month before realizing that there was something seriously off about them.  They started to hurt my feet really bad and twice I had seriously considered getting rid of them on eBay.

I have since found out the reason and am now wearing them as my everyday walking shoes.  Shame, walking shoes should not cost this much.

First of all they were too small.  They were size 8.5, which is what I normally wear.  When I tried them on in the store I was given a pair of 8.5 and they were slightly roomy so I ignored the pervasive advice that i should buy running shoes half a size larger.  I didn't know it for a while but they were indeed too small.

Second, there was something seriously wrong about the insoles. Instead of staying put in the shoe for me to step on they like to come up with my foot and it not only created a strange sensation but was not good for my arches.  I tried to replace them once and after taking them out I found that they are the thickest, cushiest pair of insoles I've ever seen.  They are thick, cushy, and felt really comfy when you poke and squeeze them, and they look so cool that I didn't have the heart (or felt the need) to replace them.  I've recently switched them out and replaced them with the insoles that came from another pair of shoes I replaced a pair of Dr. Scholl's with.  And now I'm able to wear my Brooks comfortably (for everyday wear), mostly because I created more room in the shoe, and because I got rid of the weird vacuum insoles.

I tried to put them to good use elsewhere.  Today I tried to put them in my Kinvara 5 so they wouldn't be completely support-less but not as hard and uncomfortable as the Superfeet insoles.  It did not go well.  They took up way to much room in the shoe; they were too small so my arches were very uncomfortably supported, and it was overall just a very bad idea.  They are now sitting among a bunch of used paper towels in the garbage can of the women's locker room of the gym.  I still feel bad because they are so cushy and substantive, but apparently this is a bad thing.  Maybe I just can't have very cushy insoles.  Support, maybe, but not cushy.  So there.

I'm still constantly experimenting, and trying to put everything I own into some good use.  Right now the best option is still my Kinvara 5, without any modifications. I am financially capable of buying the Hurricane Iso and experiment them but the consideration is not money, but excess.  I have a problem when it comes to shoes. I want to buy all of them! Especially ones that should be good fit for me! But technically I really don't need any (yea yea you should rotate your shoes yada yada), and the truth is I really don't have any more room in my apartment (or my gym locker, for that matter) to have another pair of shoes (I recently threw out a pair of casual walking shoes and bought another pair of new casual walking shoes before successfully turning my Brooks into something useable so I'm already regretting that decision).  Reason simultaneously tells me that I should buy them (shoe rotation, etc) and not buy them (no they are not terribly expensive but no I also don't really need them).  Plus I'm not that even a heavy runner!  It's not like I run a 5K everyday or in the middle of training for a marathon or something.  I've just forced myself to go back to running and right now I do about 1.5 miles at a time after my gym classes and I haven't done any runs longer than that in months!  Maybe I should just stop obsessing over running shoes and just work with what I have.

My only fear is that by the time I'm ready for another pair of shoes the Hurricane Isos will become dinosaurs and the new models will suck.

Oh well, such is life.  And there's always that extra pair of Kinvara 5 that will carry me through any tough times.

Exercise Diary: Saturday Fun

Went to yoga again today, this time with a new friend.  I told a bunch of people about the yoga studio I joined and while many expressed interested she was the only one who actually wanted to take a class.  We had to work around her schedule a bit but it's kind of touching that she still wants to do it given that she's leaving here in a short while so there won't be a chance of her becoming a regular member.

Which is why I went to a yoga class on Saturday, something I don't think I've ever done, and two days after my last class.

It was a nice class.  We had a substitute instructor which is always nice since new teachers bring their own style and series of poses and their own way of explaining how to do things.  We did a bunch of sun salutations but added in a bunch of balancing poses and side plank variations, which killed me.  But I really like the change in the style that I'm more familiar to.

I again sweated more that I have ever done.  My shirt was soaked all the way through and half way through the class I began to have sweat dripping down from my forehead down my face.  But I think my body is more used to the work now, I no long feel like I've regressed to the beginning of last year with my joints all tensed up and inflexible.

Afterwards for the first time I didn't immediately go back to my apartment and shower.  Instead my friend and I went to a small fair hosted by a bunch of asian societies on campus where they had free food and games.  We replenished all the calories we burned with bubble tea, aloe juice, strawberry mochi, and fruits.  I was way too full for kabob or rich balls, since I was still digesting the chicken I had two hours before my class.  With food we also played the board game go and the toy shuttlecock, and as we were leaving I felt a sense of happiness and slight nostalgia, this overall warm feeling that I haven't had in a long time.  It was very satisfying.  Maybe with the exception of having another round of go with a better player I didn't have the painful feeling of not wanting the whole thing to end, but it brought me back to a fantasy childhood that I could never go back to since it was nothing but a collection of chunky happy moments.  Anyway that combined with the endorphins released from the yoga exercise made my afternoon very very happy.

Things on my mind:

• Going to New Orleans next weekend for a conference and I'm super excited now.  Feeling slightly guilty since I'm way more excited about the fun things I want to do in the city rather than the conference itself.  But I've never been to New Orleans and it will just be a shame if I miss the culture.  I anticipate being drunk and sleep deprived the whole time I'm there but if that's how i'm going to squeeze work and play in then I guess that'll have to do.
• My new shoes arrived yesterday.  I'm now not so into Kinvara 5 anymore since the shoes don't seem to fit perfectly.  I returned my size 9 pair for 9.5 since the 9 were way too tight, and now I feel that the 9.5 may be too big.  I haven't run in them yet (will do tomorrow) but now I'm getting a bit tantrum-y because the shoes are being so difficult.  I think this will be the last time I invest a lot of my consciously deciding on what running shoes I'm going to buy.  My Saucony Cohesion cost $38 and I had never tried them on before buying and now I got almost 100 miles on them.  They were by far my most satisfactory purchase.  Go figures.  
• It's still quite chilly here in New England but New Orleans will be hot hot hot!  Which reminded me again of how fat I still am and cannot really look good in any summer clothes and i hate that.  I really need to be harder on myself about losing weight with both exercise and diet.  I have way too much to lose and not enough will power to lose it all.  I don't think it will happen in time for my trip but I really hope that sometimes before the end of summer I will be able to go out feeling good and confident about how I look in summer clothes.  My birthday is coming up and I just don't want to wasted too many years felling shitty about my body before I get too old.  

Exercise Diary: Being afraid

Today was the first time I went back running after my first road run of the year.  That road run was hard, in that my legs were sore for days afterwards that made me feel like I had not done any running at all since I stopping running outside last year.

The weather never got warm enough to run outside again but I had not done any running otherwise.  Life happened and I used that as an excuse to not go.  I was sleep deprived so every day when I got home all I wanted to do was take a nap.  Last week I was overwhelmed with work stuff that I decided to focus on my diet instead of spending hours after work going to the gym.  I did manage to shake off a few stubborn pounds by eating very little in the evenings and very early.  I told myself that if I feel lighter I would have an easier time exercising.

My parens came 2 weeks ago and brought a bunch of stuff that I didn't get to take with me when I got back from my winter vacation.  With two more suitcases in my room I no longer had space to roll out my yoga mat so I didn't do any other exercises either besides running.

All of this was fueled by the fact that even when I had the time and energy to go to the gym and run a few miles, I was afraid that I would get tired, or that it was take up too much time before and after (like now; I got home before 10 and now it's 10:40 and I still haven't showered or changed).  It's not just putting on my gym clothes and go running.  It's making sure that I'm not too full or too hungry before I go, the stretching and doing other exercise videos after coming home, the writing of the blog, and the constant debate of whether I should eat something because on the one hand I feel that I deserve food after exercise but on the other hand I really don't deserve that much food.  It's not like I ran a marathon or something.

Life finally went back to normal for a bit.  On Friday we assembled the graded exams which took up a lot of my time last week.  I had a very relaxed and unproductive weekend which made me slightly guilty but at the same time absolutely happy.  I ate way too much over the weekend because of an awesome shopping trip to Trader Joe's, and all of these culminated to my determination and actual execution of going to the gym.  I wasn't very hard on myself and only did 2 miles.  I stopped because my legs were tired.  They felt tight and sore and I thought I would allow myself some time to get back into the load I was doing before.  After coming home I did Cassey Ho's new squat challenge video which was a very intense few minutes but felt absolute heaven.  I need to clear out my room so I could have enough space to do other videos later but hopefully today was a nice beginning of getting back into my old workout routine.  It's almost May and this month has gone so quickly in so many ways while being so slow in other, but I don't think I will see a significant change in my body shape when I'm ready to take a new picture of myself.  I'm not terribly worried, but I would like to change faster.

Exercise Diary: Something different

At some point last month I reached my one year runniversary.  It was toward the end of March, I was getting emails about a 5K to raise money for cystic fibrosis (this year it's a walk instead), my parents came to visit (they did again last weekend), and I just had this overwhelming urge to give this running thing one last try.

And here we are today.  Granted about 6 months within the last year I spent thinking about running and nursing an injury, and dreaming a lot about running marathons someday and buying fancy shoes and other gears.  I lost 10 lbs but am having trouble losing more.  It's still a struggle to balance everything but at least I'm moving.

Went for a run on Sunday (after my parents left) and a run yesterday.  Both were hard for different reasons.  I had trouble getting through 5 miles on Sunday, and I wasn't able to, leaving the gym 5 minutes before closing and not getting the run I needed.  I kept stopping to walk, and changing the channels.  There was nothing on TV that would keep me calm and occupied for the hour, and I had trouble keeping myself entertained.

Yesterday I did my first road run.  The weather forecast reported low 70s and I thought, finally~  I didn't go far; I had to do 3 miles and I ended up running around the pond next to our building 3 times since it's close by, the laps are easier to remember, and if something goes wrong I could easily stop and go back.  I had prepared to bring my shoes (with the Nike+ sensor), bra and  pants to change, Garmin Forerunner 10, my cap and my SPI belt.  I actually brought everything but the shoes...  I put them in a bag and forgot about them.  Luckily I was wearing sneakers that day anyway and I had run in them so they are somewhat safe.  I did manage to loop the pond 3 times, the watch worked fine, the podcast was interesting, the weather accommodating (windy and cloudy but not too hot or cold), and plenty of people who had the same idea as me looping the pond in both directions.

It was only then I realized that my runs on the treadmill was getting me very, very complacent.  I was struggling toward the end of first mile, received a mild shock at the concept of hills, had to stop and walk toward the end of mile 2, and my legs (thighs, butt, calves, and surprisingly only a little of the feet) are still hurting quite a bit this morning.  I had to readjust my running pose to something more comfortable for road running where I actually had to push myself more to move ahead on immobile ground (so I had to lean forward more), I was painfully aware of how hard my feet were pounding the ground and legs not raised much.  My cap was absorbing most of my sweat but I was still stuffy.  But my eyes had so much more to see: the people, the scenery, the incoming cars...  I think I will stick to the pond for a bit more until I get used to outdoor running before moving to somewhere more hilly and farther from home.  I also need to start bringing a water bottle.

On the flip side, I spent way too much time yesterday (during work and after) struggling with modern technology, everything from a stupid printer to my various sports devices and music players.  By the end, I connected my computer to another printer, decided that Nike+ on any Android device (maybe with the exception of Samsung, which I don't use) is just useless, wrote to Nike+ support so they can deal with another issue I was trying to resolve, updated my computer, bought myself a new (refurbished) iPod Touch (just for the heck of it, and at 2 am when I was extremely exhausted), and am still behind on work.

And I'm exhausted this morning, catching up on blogging.

I really hope the rest of the week is going to be better.  It's been a long week and it's only Tuesday.

Exercise Diary: Need more data~

A friend of mine defended this thesis today and officially became a Ph.D.  Juxtaposing that with the fact that I have not been doing a lot of lab work due to my TA schedule and my inability to compartmentalize my mind and focus on things in front of me, made me feel on the one hand extremely proud him and on the other hand slightly worried for myself.

Anyhoo, in order to go celebrate his successful defense I skipped yoga today, had some champaign which was for some reason much stronger than I anticipated (probably because I was drinking on an empty stomach), and then ingested an obscene amount of cake, chips and salsa, and veggies with yummy ranch dressing.  I got home with a headache and was absolutely exhausted.  Took a nap and really struggled to go to the gym afterwards.

I did only 2.5 miles today, just to save the long run for the weekend.  Given how tired I was when I got up and how much junk food I had in my stomach I did not anticipate that I would have an excellent run.  But it just felt... really easy.  My foot didn't bother me, I felt energetic, and I felt really comfortable going up to higher speeds.  I was pleasantly surprised how short my run felt, and I had a blast watching a documentary on wildlife in Russia on the Animal Planet channel.

And I can't really figure out why.  I had assumed that because of the stress, the slacking of fluid intake, the lack of sleep, and my general decline in running ability had contributed to my recent struggle every time I get on the treadmill.  Maybe I was mentally less tired today since I knew it was going to be a short run (but I was still afraid of it)?  I can't quite figure out what was different about me today.  I got about 6.5 hours of sleep last night, plus another 1.5 or so hours before going.  I ate oatmeals for breakfast, a vegetarian lunch, and about 2.5 L of water before the cake and snack fiasco.  I took my daily vitamins right after I got home.  I don't consider that a wild stray from my normal daily routine.

I don't know what made today so easy.

After I got home I did two Ballet Beautiful videos: swam arms and butt series 1.  I wasn't in the mood of trying anything new today, and both were a struggle but after many pauses and stretches and coconut water I managed thru them both.  I wanted to do another abs video from blogilates but I was tired, and it was getting late.  So maybe tomorrow. I think since tomorrow is not a running day I will do legs and abs and something else.

Wednesday morning I tried to do a video before leaving for school.  It was a new video too and that wasn't very smart.  I forgot why I decided to do it, probably to make up for not doing anything on Tuesday (granted I didn't leave lab until 10:30 for TA stuff and had to get up for the 8:45 am the next day).  I didn't get through the entire video due to time and lack of strength, but yesterday was also a long day and I felt much more energetic.  I was hungrier faster, but I wasn't tired, and I think the morning exercise may have something to do with it.  I just couldn't get up this morning to try again, but I will repeat this experiment someday.

It's almost the weekend!  My parents are coming to visit so I will have to plan my time carefully, but they will bring me yummy food, and we are going to see ballet together and all of us are very much looking forward to it.

Exercise Diary: Running Behind

I'm running behind on everything in life at the moment.  Running schedule, workout exercises, research, preparing for lab that I'm supposed to TA next week, filing my taxes, doing stuff for mom, laundry, writing this blog after each time I run or exercise, and even leisure books I wanted to read.  In fact the only things that I'm not behind are TA things or research things (or going to the movies) that require me to be at a certain place at a certain time.  Because there are consequences if I don't show up on time.  And even when I'm physically there I'm not always prepared to do whatever I'm supposed to be doing.  When I don't have to be somewhere I waste my time just relaxing, being tired, and procrastinating in general.

I did manage to get two runs in this week, neither of which I have recorded, since I had to be somewhere right afterwards so I didn't have the luxury of sitting around, writing a blog post, shower, eat, and sitting around some more.  I ran on Thursday, and had an hour to come home and shower before going to lab again to set up some stuff for one of the undergrads in our lab.  And today I went running again, only to have the same time crunch afterwards so I could make to the 4pm movie of "Paddington" which I really wanted to see (and it was totally worth the $5).

And I didn't even have enough time to do all my running.  I was supposed to do 3 miles on Thursday and only did about 2.8 before I had to go.  And I was supposed to run 4 miles but only had time to do 3.2.  Today was a combination of being really tired and being short on time.  I again timed my lunch wrongly so I was sort of running on a full stomach and felt heavy and tired.  Neither run felt very satisfying or accomplished.  My only accomplishment this week is dragging my butt to the gym twice.  What I ended up doing in there was nothing to brag about.

So today I made the decision of starting last week over again in terms of my training schedule.  Even since I knew for sure that I'm not doing a half marathon in May I could feel a slight but definite drop in motivation (albeit masked by my suddenly busy schedule), and I think not going running on Monday was a very telling sign.  I want to keep adhering to my training plan, even though I have no race at the end, but I just want to be constantly preparing for something in case a race shows up, and I just really need the discipline.  Otherwise I will just be randomly running for some undetermined distance at some leisure speed, and I would be running for month without real progress.  I really need the structure and something to guide me.  I just hope I will stick to it now that there is no consequence at the end of the plan.  When I reach the end I will just start a new plan, one that probably will prepare me for something hypothetical marathon I may or may not be running in December.  But I want to keep it up.  It's important to me.

Today I also did a Ballet Beautiful butt workout, courtesy of a friend who's been doing that series of videos for a while now.  Apparently it's very good at getting rid of inches and sculpting good arm and leg shapes in a very short period of time.  I still don't understand the science behind "getting rid of inches" and what is actually going on behind that, but I can only assume that the workout burns a lot more calories since they are very intense.  A lot of the moves in this video were not unfamiliar to me, but of course there are always ways to make them more difficult given enough time.  I definitely felt my legs and glute muscles after the workout, but I don't think I benefitted as much as I could by following the instructor at her speed.  She was able to do all the moves so quickly and effortlessly, and it was sort of implied that we the students should really take our own time with the reps and the stretching in between, but since it was my first time I was determined to follow all her lead, and found that in order to keep up with her speed I couldn't carry out all the moves and reps fully.  Next time if I ever will repeat this video I will definitely do the reps at my own pace.  But I did end up taking a second shower of the day after this video and was walking a little more carefully, so it's definitely working, regardless of how carelessly I was doing all the moves.

I'm still in the process of reassessing my life for this term, how to balance the sudden intrusion of my time, ensuring a proper and healthy diet (I've already eaten more junky meals than I liked), and keep a reasonable workout schedule, since I think that's very important to my sanity as well.  I need to suck it up and just do everything.

Exercise Diary: Yoga and Life

Yoga Tuesday again.  This will be the last Tuesday of this term that I will be going to yoga classes.  Starting next week I will have lab sessions to TA every Tuesday night.  We've agreed to move our yoga day to Thursday, but we'll see how that goes.  I foresee a lot of missed classes ahead.

And for once in a long time I actually skipped running yesterday.  I even planned to go run.  The gym  is now in full spring term hours, which means that it opens until 10 pm.  And because of that I had planned to be in lab until after 7 so I would have time for everything.

Time I did have, energy I did not.  I was exhausted by the time I left lab, I just could muster the energy to run.  Plus my calves and ankles were sore ( much better now, it really was just muscle soreness), and my plantar fasciitis is getting quite bad ( my foot is hurting right now).  I considered it very wise to have skipped gym yesterday.  But it also means that my schedule is again completely screwed up and I will probably postpone the training plan by another week.

Not that it matters anymore.  Yesterday my friend had confirmed that she will not be running the half marathon we had planned to do.  Although she said she would be happy to go with me, I quickly called off the plan too.  It's a week before I had to leave for a conference, and right in the middle of the last third of my TA.  And I just don't think I could have the time and energy to worry about it.  I thought that the cancellation of my running goal would not affect my routine, but apparently it has.

I don't think it's the only reason though.  Although I had anticipated that I will all of a sudden become very busy because I'm TAing again this term, I had not factored in how mentally and physically exhausted I would be.  And this is ridiculous: it's only the second day of the term and I had not taught any students, graded any papers, or dealt with any problems.  So far all I did was attend a TA meeting, a lecture, and a lab prep training session, and I'm already constantly exhausted and overwhelmed.  I think part of it was that because time is all of a sudden a commodity I was also trying to squeeze more experiments into certain days as others are increasing becoming unavailable.  That combined with the fact that I just don't do well if I have to get up early in the morning, is making me a very unhappy person.

And because of it I fear that my workout routine also has to change to accommodate my new (but temporary) life.  I will have to come to terms with not running as much or work out as much.  I will also have to be more efficient.  If it takes me an hour to run a certain distance, I will just have to shave off time for before and after I go so working out doesn't take up 3 hours of my life that I don't have.  And I also need to be careful of my diet since I tend to over eat and eat unhealthily when I'm tired or stressed, and to moderate my fluid intake so I will still drink a lot of water every day but will not have to go pee every 5 minutes when I'm supposed to be doing TA stuff.  The peeing part worked pretty well today, but the fluid intake part did not.  I couldn't have drunk more than 1.5 liter today, and I already feel dry.

Before I started this week I was already overwhelmed with all the things I will have to do this term, and my response to myself was to just "suck it up."  There is just simply no other way.  And the motto remains, but I have to figure our how to suck it up smartly or I will completely fall apart in probably every way of my life.  I haven't worked out how to do it yet, but I will definitely keeping trying.