Sunday, August 4, 2013

I have run through the field...

Let's see. What's going on recently? Hmmmm... Long recovery run today, long run yesterday, grocery shopping, Star Trek, reading for fun, reading for studying, nut butters, laundry, tax free weekend...

This weekend is the tax-free weekend in North Carolina (I think in other states too?). Some new running shoes might be eligible. That's the only thing I can think of that I might need. I'm going to need new trail running shoes in the next couple of weeks. The ones I have are Montrail FluidFlex and they've gotten about 500 miles on them... about 200 more than they're "supposed to." The thing is, I haven't had a consistent pair of trail shoes in a while.

When I first started trail running, I used the Brooks Cascadia. That was mainly because I was relatively loyal to the Brooks brand, but also the shoe was pretty well-regarded. I went through 3 generations of those, with a lot of satisfaction. But I wanted to start getting lighter weight and lower to the ground (lower heel-to-toe drop that is), and the Cascadia was kind of a brick. So I went to the Saucony Peregrine but was dissatisfied with the insole constantly sliding around once the shoe got wet. Next round was the Brooks PureGrit. I was very happy with this shoe. However, most other people were not so not many local vendors continued to carry it or it's follow up, the PureGrit2. Which brought me to the Montrail FluidFlex. They've been OK, but nothing special. The tongue was narrow and let a lot of grit in. Furthermore, last month, with about 300-350 miles, the upper was tearing away from the midsole, so I'm kind of disappointed with how long it lasts.

Shoes I am or would like to consider: Brooks PureGrit 2, Altra Instinct (?), Inov8, Saucony Kinvara TR (trail), Patagonia EverMORE, New Balance MT1010. Any suggestions or reviews from the audience?

Latest nut butter has been a hodgepodge: Trader Joe's Mixed Fancy Nuts. At least for me and my food processor, the roasted nuts pulverize better than the raw. Last batch of almond butter I tried raw almonds, but they never really released the oils to help make the almonds creamy. Roasted seems to do the trick. I'm sure most raw butters get so with a finer grind with an actual mill (vs. a food processor).

I've been reading multiple books. I'm trying to get motivated for my Personal Training book. I've realized that an EMT career will inevitable start out as part-time volunteer, so I have no reason not to pursue other careers that interest me. And on the other side, I've started a book called In to the Breach, about the EMS service in Newark, New Jersey. It has some good insight into the EMS service and very well written.

I'm on season 7 and the last of Star Trek: The Next Generation. What will I do next?! I guess I'll read more. Or just move on to the original Star Trek....

This morning's long recovery run was uneventful and uninspiring. I was running for 2.5 hours on the Carolina North Forest Trails. Evening running on the school-side trails, which I haven't used for several weeks, I still got bored relatively quickly. Definitely one of those I-have-the-energy-but-not-the-attention/determination. Contrast to yesterday's 30 mile run. That was surprisingly fantastic. Usually I make it through those runs always feeling like I want to quit but reluctantly pushing through. This run, I had those thoughts but really needed little reconsideration to keep on going and finish the whole run. I felt like I kept the spring in my step much longer than usual; it wasn't faster than usual, but given hot it was, it wasn't my slowest. THAT run felt very invigorating.

No crazy internal monologues or musings for now. I would say I should just channel some Taoist philosophy (in my perspective, it means, don't stress what you can't change), but sometimes I think that passive, go-with-the-flow mentality is what can get me in trouble, and isolates me from others.

Soundtrack:
"ISHFWILF" Disturbed cover of U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" I like this because it talks about how no matter what you achieve, you can still feel lost; or that you have more to accomplish
"Inside Our Skins" by Emery. In the context of the song and music; I love it when they bellow out this phrase "Wisdom light my way into the dark"

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