Kate

I was on the hunt this week for my next shoe victim…

I went to a running shoe specialty store last year and was fitted (kind of) for two different running shoes that I have enjoyed over this past year. The Adidas Supernova Cushion 6 and the Asics Gel-Nimbus 9.

I am a cushion lover! My knees thanked me for it too. I stopped shopping for bargains at outlet stores and laid out some cold hard cash for these two pair of sneakers last summer. I have also realized that they don’t sell the best made shoes for running in regular stores. Nowhere really had these shoes when I shopped last night, other than maybe the higher end mall shops.

Now, I haven’t run that much in the past year, so I figured my two pair from last summer were good for a year at least and they have done me well. This time around though, I’m acting a bit smarter and keeping tabs on my shoe mileage, fit and feel. I’m not going to go between two pair, but buy two and hide away one pair until I need them.

Last night I went hunting for either pair and to get prices. Both companies have come out with a new line, the next # up. I still like what I have and wanted to get those if possible before being pushed on to the newer model. A few stores in the mall had these shoes, but none in my size. Only one had even the newer version, but I wasn’t ready for that yet.

So, today I trotted out on my Asics GN9’s to compare them again to my Adidas SN6’s. I ran most of the beginning miles of this year in my Asiscs and loved them. I have been running solely in the Adidas ones these past two weeks. Today, I found I had no knee pain at all while running. I felt the Aiscs were worn out a bit, but I felt nothing like I did the other day running on the Adidas shoes.

Chris was on his bike with me this morning, which may have also kept my mind off my knee. In addition to my practicing yoga which helped stretch me out a bit (that felt sooo good the past day!). The more I think about my knee, the more it seems to hurt. So, I try my best not to focus on it as an issue and just continually pray for no pain and a wonderful running life. Today, I got my wish… well until afterward when I iced it and then it started to feel funny again, but that’s besides the point.

I’m thrilled to be a proud owner of two new pair of Aiscs Gel-Nimbus 9 running shoes! I searched online to find the best price. I purchased them from efootwear.com and got a coupon code from retailment.com (which I always use). I hope this proves to be a great place to shop and get my shoes in a timely manner. Then I can avoid stores and just purchase what I want, when I need them.

I’m looking forward to my next jaunt out in these babies. The other great thing… I got a pair in green and one in blue. My two favorite colors! It’s a shame when running sneakers are the only thing to get me excited in the past few weeks…

If you’ve ever used efootwear.com, please tell me about your experience. I pray it was a good one!

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 09/12/2008
• Time: 06:15:00
• Total Time: 00:22:00.00
• Distance: 2 miles
• Average Pace: 11:00.55/mile

I just purchased these Dopie sandals, before I decided to snowball my student loans with every last penny I have. This morning I started wearing them out, today to work.

There is a lot of information out there about walking around in shoes that mimic going barefoot. I have to say, even after a 1/2 hour of walking and wearing them, my foot stride has changed.

These are really dopie looking, but they are rather comfortable. I understand and appreciate the ability to be ‘barefoot’ in a pair of shoes. What I’ve learned is that almost, if not all, shoes/sneakers/whatever you wear on your feet all have a heel. Even flat shoes have a slight heel too. This isn’t normal and causes you to walk different and makes you a heel-to-toe walker by design. This is especially true for running sneakers which cushion the heel and make it easier to run heel-to-toe.

I won’t go into all that has been written about these ideas, but I will give you some links for more information. I opted for sandals to start because I could get them on Amazon for $39 (free shipping) vs. their online store for $55 + $12 s/h. Also, the sneakers are a lot more costly and with summer around the corner, I figured I’d see how it was to walk in their sandals. So far, I love ‘em.

Not only are they comfortable, they’re green too!

Links for more info:

• You walk wrong (NY Magazine)
• Barefoot Shoes (Ecologist May)
• Feet First (TimeOut)
• Worn Again (TreeHugger)

I am trying to figure out exactly what I’m saving by riding my bicyle places instead of taking my car. I have found this website that seems to cover all sorts of costs of driving. It includes things I don’t normally pay for, but might be a factor in the long run. I never thought of depreciation, etc… to factor in either. I just thought of gas = mpg and that cost. So, I’m going to use their figure of $1.26 per mile cost for societal costs & $0.93 for personal costs to compare the two (link on the right - Miles on my Cruiser). I changed the fuel/oil price per mile to $0.13 because $0.059 per mile was too low at these gas prices.
Each month, at Chris’ suggestion, I’m going to transfer that money I’ve ’saved’ into a savings account. This makes good use of my money and also keeps me saving more every time I ride. It sounds like fun, because I LOVE to save money!

I got the bike I was eying at the store. I also got a small basket that can be put on or taken off easily, for when I go to the farm or food store. I’m hoping to ride it there this weekend! I went for a few laps around my complex and was planning on doing that this morning, but I slept in. My goal is to ride 4+ miles daily in the mornings as a wake-up cycle. Then I’ll have my usual evening workouts of weights, running or more cycling. I have slacked off this week… but I’ll be back in the game 100% over the weekend and next week!

Workout:

• Type: Cycle
• Date: 04/24/2008
• Time: 18:00:00
• Total Time: 00:30:00.00
• Distance: 4 miles
• Average Speed: 8 mph

Here’s my new bike… Schwinn Cruiser SS 2008

I have been trying to justify spending around $300 to get a new, comfortable cruiser bike. I have a mountain bike, but my butt goes numb and I don’t like riding it for more than 10 minutes. I even bought a more expensive cushioned seat for it a few years back, but it still makes my butt hurt and go numb. While I might enter a tri-or-bi-athalon later in life, the time is not now. I went to the bicycle shop to check out different style bikes. They had mountain, racing, hybrids (yeah ~ really) and cruisers. I tried out the hybrid, which is a cruiser/racing/mountain bike crossover. It was just as comfortable as my mountain bike… thumbs down on that.

So, I’m leaning towards a cruiser bike. The cost is about $300 after I pay for the bike, taxes and get baskets put on. Oh, I didn’t mention the baskets yet have I? I want to get a basket in the front and two side baskets… old lady-dom here I come! Hell, we even checked out the tricycles with big back baskets!! Wahoo… can you see me now? The store clerk just laughed at me! How silly

This bike was in the store… but I’d opt for a sleek and simple looking one. This one is too showy for me! This one below is the one I’ll probably get… wow, it was cheaper in the store than online!

The cruiser would be comfortable, easy to ride and I would be able to take it out for a spin without having to change, put special clothes/sneakers on, etc… I could ride it around a bit before work, when I get home, etc… The cost is the issue, $300 is a lot of money for a bike! (My mountain bike is like a huffy for $80 I bought 4 years ago! Correlation between being uncomfortable… hmm, I think not!)

Chris and I, while running, figured out how many miles I’d have to ride to make the bike worth the cost, instead of purchasing gas. My goal would be to use the bike to exercise on nice days, ride it to the food store (with a helmet - our area is not bike conducive) and over to the farm that is 5 miles away to get our CSA in May-Oct on Saturdays. So, here’s the cost analysis:

• Car = 30 miles/gallon gas
• $4 per gallon (this summer or sooner! argh!)
• $300 bike cost

• $300 / $4 gallon = 75 gallons of gas for $300 (which equals about 6-7 tanks)
• 75 gallons x 30 miles = 2,250 miles!!!

So, there you have it… once I ride more than 2,250 miles on this bike, the cost of riding would equal being free. I’d have to ride to the farm 225 times round-trip or the food store about the same.

What’s your take?

I know by riding, I’ll save gas, lose weight, exercise, etc… I love riding my bike. I’m just terrified to ride it around on the streets near my house, but I used to be very adventurous as a kid. Where have all my nerves gone? I’m even afraid to ride a bike in traffic now… come on! I’m crazy.

What would you do?

In a few weeks… I think I’m going to opt for the bike!

Any suggestions? Comments? Ideas?

I’m def. getting a cruiser, so don’t try to convince me to get a racing bike

I skipped the gym this morning in favor of sleeping a few extra hours before I work tonight. I feel a little guilty, but I was able to spend the morning reading and learning about photography. I now have an idea what an f-stop is, the aperture, the shutter speed and the ISO. I feel like I can shoot in manual mode all the time now! I need practice, but I am going to try to bring my camera everywhere. I like to shoot a lot of nature and buildings, because people always complain about their photograph being taken (aside from me, I love to be photographed!)

What I read this morning (well a few chapters thus far) is Understanding Exposure by Brian Peterson. Wow, this guy is good and really explains how it all works in laymens terms. I wasn’t sure I’d ever figure this stuff out! Now, I feel more confident I’m getting the hang of it.

I bought the book after reading a lot of people’s reviews on BarnesandNoble.com and Amazon.com. I spent almost an entire day going back and forth between Amazon and B&N and Half.com to figure out the prices, the best reviews and which book I’d really learn from. There are so many out there, most of which I’ve taken out from the library. Many of which also were of little use to me, because they just didn’t explain how it works, but just said “this is how I take this shot, etc…”

I bought it on Half.com along with another book that is solely about my specific SLR digital camera (see left photo). With both, I think I’m geared up to learn and re-learn how to take creative photographs with the correct exposure using the manual modes, instead of presets.

Now, only if I could become a full-time photographer… then maybe I’d make it to the gym more often

Health:

• Date: 01/23/2008
• Weight: 135.8
• Mood: Normal
• Sleep Hours: 10.5
• Sleep Pattern: Better than Normal

Yeah, I need a Waaahhhmbulance, cuz I’m whining! I’ve worked out a solid hour for the past 7 days to gain 2 lbs. Shocking! Well, not really. Just have to lose 6lbs now by Jan 31st, not 3lbs like two weeks ago.

I have been writing down what I eat, not trying to cut back or anything. I’m sure the two pounds has something to do with muscle returning to my body and the fact that I’ve been more hungry, so I think I’m eating a bit more. I am going to work the rest of the week on scaling back on foods that I don’t need and avoiding the extra snacks when I’m not hungry. Along with that, I’m going to focus on increasing my intensity on the cardio machines, without resistance.

My knee is still bothering me, even when I sit or sleep now, so I’m going to skip lifting my legs and just work them on cardio machines with no resistance until I see the doctor. I’m hoping I can get a referral to an orthopedist and go there within the next few weeks. Then I’m hoping I can get this matter taken care of once and for all. Health insurance is really ridiculous! I have to waste time to go to my primary care in order for him to say, “Yep, you need to see someone else.” What a waste of time! Hopefully something will change in the future for health care. I’m getting excited from watching the primaries!

Off to the gym this morning to lift upper body and maybe walk and watch a movie. My ipod nano sucks. It skips songs, some of which are my runners high songs. (Songs that get me to that special place with little effort!) I have read many message boards and troubleshooting websites and have tried everything everyone has suggested. Apparently, Apple doesn’t care to fix their software or the nano issues, for many have gone to them to get nothing fixed either. I even packaged the first one up and returned it to get another one, which had the same thing happen.

So, I’ve given up. I have formated, restored, reset, re-imported to itunes, reinstalled itune, etc… basically everything under the sun. There are a few more options to try, but I am about ready to give up on it and just live with it until (hopefully) a new software upgrade will fix the problem. The files aren’t corrupt, the hard drive isn’t bad, it’s just the nano. Apple sucks just as much as Windows Vista does to me now. If anything, at least movies and tv shows play. I’ve been watching those while I ride the bike or use other machinery.

Enjoy your day!

Health:

• Date: 01/09/2008
• Weight: 136
• Mood: Normal
• Sleep Hours: 8
• Sleep Pattern: Normal