Testing the Waters

Last night I went for a test run of sorts.

My legs were still feeling a bit tired from Saturday’s race so I knew I was going to take it super easy. Plus I picked up some new shoes (same model, just a new pair) a few weeks ago but hadn’t started breaking them in yet. An easy run sounded like the perfect time to give them a shot!

I also “crafted” a solution for my night vision problem & wanted to see how it would work:

Yep – that’s a LIGHT held onto the brim of my hat with BINDER CLIPS!

I won a clip-on LED bike headlight on Friday night at a women’s cycling clinic & just knew I could find a way to make it work for running!

Sure, it looks clunky, but I figured it wouldn’t be much heavier than other headlamps & hat-clip-lights out there!

THE VERDICT? 

The shoes were not so good.  Sure, my new pair is exactly the same as what I’ve been wearing for years…but they didn’t have the heel wedges I’ve gotten used to running in. (They are literally stuck in my current pair.)

My feet actually felt fine, but my Achilles tendons were screaming by mile 1 so I decided to cut my run short & only go 2 miles instead of my intended 3.

I’m thinking the irritation was from the extra “reaching” they had to do to get to the ground when normally the heel wedges make contact about a half inch sooner.

I’ll be sticking to these beauties until a new pair of inserts (ordered post-run) arrive!

Current shoes with about 200 miles on them.

And the LIGHT. WAS. AWESOME!

I could see SO much & didn’t feel unsafe at all during what’s usually the darkest part of my run.  (I still wore my reflective vest too, and a red blinky light on my back)

I could see every little divot and hole in the pavement and I’m sure everyone saw me coming!

Honestly, my only “complaint” about the light was that I could see all of the bugs in the air, which was gross and slightly disturbing. 

And the extra weight on the brim of my hat didn’t bug me at all once I got used to the feeling of it being there.  The movement of the light with my stride didn’t bother me either.  (I’m guessing it would be a whole different story if I used it on the blinky setting – just standing still that one made me dizzy!)

And now, just for fun,  here’s a video of Miss Dottie going to town on her “birthday toy” earlier this week!

If you can’t see the video, click here.  I’m still not sure I embedded it correctly!

We get her the same stuffed bone year after year for her birthday. She loves them and squeaks them like a maniac for a few days, then rips all of the stuffing out.  She’s had one every year since the day we brought her home 6 years ago!

Happy Wednesday!

I’ll be back tomorrow – hopefully – with a recap of my first weekday long run!  9 miles starts at 5:00am! Eeek!