I'm Back!!!

I can't say that I'm back, because I was never really gone. I was just a little absent from the blogging world. I have quite a few race reports to write and I hope that making this post tonight will keep me accountable to actually write those reports in the next few weeks.

But for now, I'll leave you with these pictures of all my running shoes from old to new (minus the pair I ran in while training for my first half marathon back in 2008). I have ran through many pairs of shoes, but I can't bring myself to getting rid of my old running shoes. I still wear them when I walk the dogs or when I'm going to the store. And by looking at them, you can probably tell I'm a Saucony girl!

The oldest pair is in the lower right hand corner and they are Saucony Paramounts. You can see that I have 2 pairs of Paramounts - exact same shoe, different color. And I also have a pair of Paramount 2's. It's just hard to switch to a new style when you find one that works. But I eventually had to because they don't make the Paramounts anymore.

The Mizuno's took me through a half marathon, but I always go back to Saucony's! I have the Kinvara's, but they are only used on shorter runs. They are a little too minimal for me and I need a little more support. My newest and favorite pair (top left hand corner) are the Saucony Cortana's! They are so comfortable and they have tons of fun colors - it was hard to choose which color combo to get!

The way to tell how old my shoes are is if you can see the label in the sock of the shoe. You can't see it in the older ones on the bottom row, but you can see the label in all the newer ones on the top row! Looks like the top row need to get some more miles on them!

Anyway, enjoy my running shoes and hopefully it won't be another 4 months until I blog again!!!

Dear Ol' Man Winter: GO AWAY!

Yesterday afternoon, I ran 6.25 miles outside in shorts and a t-shirt. It was somewhere around 60 degrees and it was amazing!

And this is what it was like tonight when I got home from work:

Seriously? Snow again? Don't get me wrong, I love the snow for a very big reason: snow skiing! But if I'm not skiing, I don't really want it here. A couple snow storms during winter is fine, but I've had enough of it this winter! And I think it's even worse because we've had some really amazing and beautiful days. I feel like Spring is teasing me with nice days here and there where I can run outside. And then it is taken away! But, there's nothing I can do about it, so I'll just make the best of it.

A couple days ago, it was a little colder, but I was still able to run outside. I had some new gear that I wanted to try out, so the colder weather was perfect. Here I am after my run:

Yes, I realize that nothing about my outfit matches (even my husband pointed that out to me)! The bright orange Vizipro jacket, the black and yellow Livestrong shorts, the black and blue Amp Pro2 tights and even though you can't see it, I do have a bright pink Sweaty Band on. But, it wasn't about matching. It was about trying out my new jacket and my new tights. The company I work for is owned by the same company that owns Saucony. The fitness center at my office is appropriately named the Saucony Center. And at Saucony, they run! And they have great shoes and great gear!

I wanted to try some of their compression tights, so I chose these HERE. It was only a 4 mile run, but my legs did feel great and the fit is really great as well. And then I got this jacket HERE that I have been eyeing for quite some time! It is really lightweight and it is water resistant, so it would be great if it is raining. It does come with a USB_LED light, but I didn't take it with me this run. The ViZiPRO line is so visible and is just an extra safety measure for running outside. I do run on the sidewalk when I can, but sometimes I can't avoid running in the street, so the better cars can see me, the safer I am! And the reflective strips work great, as you can see in the picture!

So even though my outfit didn't match, I ran at a faster pace than normal. So "Yay" for the new gear! And I can't wait for the weather to get nice so that I can hit the pavement again!