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So, I got fixed yesterday and for consolation my buddy sent me a link to a bunch of fixed gear stunters.  Follow the link for the goodness:

http://www.mashsf.com/videos.php

Last week I decided to stop using the running sneakers that I was currently having issues with and I went over to the Maine Running Company.  The store is super nice and it’s convenient to only have all the running gear you need in one shop.  They first had me step on a fancy scale that showed my weight distribution across the bottom of my feet.  My feet were heavily weighed on the heels with only minimal spots near the inner side my toe pad.  After watching me walk around the store bare foot they tried to determine my gait and then fired off to the back of the store and came back with 4-5 pairs of trainers.

Apparently I require a neutral shoe with some support in the middle for my high arches.  It was strange not browsing the wall of sneakers on aesthetics like most shopping experiences would start.  I tried on Mizuno, Brooks, Saucony and Asics.  In the end I found the Saucony and Asics to be the most comfortable for me.  I chose the Asics this time around as I’ve had a bunch of Saucony’s in the past and the Asics have gotten great reviews from my friends.

I ended up with the Asics GT 2130.  It seems like a nice trainer.  Thankfully not their most expensive shoe…  I’ve got about 10 miles on them so far, hopefully they’ll work out.

Asics GT 2130

So a buddy forwarded me an article about this cool new lance bike Trek is making.  I’m a wicked sucker for flat black regardless if it’s a car, bike, motorcycle, matchbox or hotwheels.

Lance's Big Apple Bike

http://trekroad.typepad.com/trekroad/2008/09/lance.html

The next bike that caught my momentary attention was the new Travis Brown belt driven single speed cross bike.

SS Belt Driven Cross bike

SS Belt Drive

http://trekroad.typepad.com/trekroad/2008/09/travis-brown-be.html

I’m saving this link for later as I haven’t had much of a chance to explore around this new website:

http://mntnlife.com/

Today I ran a new route with a co-worker. It was a nice rolling route on some back roads close to where I work. The route was well traveled so it was on the noisy side, but provided some more rolling hills that my other routes do not provide. I clocked it out to almost 4.1 miles. The weather was perfect and I felt decent and ran the route in 36:16.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2251186

After 3 weeks off I went running at lunch yesterday with a co-worker. I only went for 3.1 miles, but it felt great. I had a cold for 2 weeks prior and following the run was the best I’ve felt in, well 3 weeks. I’m back at work today with no foot pain.

I decided to craft a nice summer route away from the tourist traffic.  With a 1 year old running sometimes I need to keep my rides to 60 minutes or less.  This route is very rolling and features parts of the Eastern Trail.  I was able to get out on this loop Friday and Sunday with similar results.  Hopefully when my foot is 100% I can drop the time required a little bit.  I’ve named this route the, “Tour De North Berwick”.  Check it out here:  http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2194015

For me August has been a terrible month for running.  Since August 5th I have experienced sharp pain during and after running.  All I’ve been able to do is ice and medicate my foot with a little ibuprofen.

On 8/16 Helena and I participated in the Old Orchard Beach Breakaway 5k.  This went fairly well.  I ended up placing 170th out of 339 finishers.  My time was 25:07.  I was hoping to break the 24 min mark this time around.  The 5k I ran in May was 24:ish, so my pace was a little off.

Wow was it humid today.  It was easier than two weeks ago in that I wasn’t hungover/tired and forgot my mtb gloves but still very difficult since it had rained a few hours prior.  Everything felt like ice.  Took about two hours and a liter of water because of the humidity.  I crashed good about 1-2 miles into the ride.  It was a descent over a big rock drop that wasn’t quite vertical but was over 3 feet in drop and my front wheel just slid across it when I crossed it.  That rock won.  The rest of the ride was pretty eventless except for making a few climbs that I hadn’t cleaned earlier.

Last week was pretty good with a couple 4+ mile days and a few others bringing the total to almost 15 miles.  The last run of the week was a 5k at race pace which brought me in at about 24:30 and it didn’t hurt too bad.  I need to stretch a lot more.