Tag Archives: shoes

Must. Run. Faster.

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So I got pwn3d today by some teenage girls. Here’s what happened.

I went to the gym this morning to do my cardio workout. I usually do 50 minutes. Today I did 40 minutes because I planned to run around the lake that’s next to the Sanderson Center. It’s probably about a mile or so around. So I’m already soaked with sweat from the elliptical and stairclimber machines inside when I set off for my run outside.

Half way around, I’m starting to feel pretty winded and tired. About three quarters of the way, I’m (barely) running along side the “main” entrance to campus and there’s one of those little things cops put out to show you how fast you’re driving. I think the point is to encourage people to slow down.

Anyway, as I come up to it, there aren’t any cars coming up behind me but it’s registering 8 or 9 mph. I’m like I know I ain’t running that fast; I might be doing 3 mph. And then zoom this little high school looking girl comes flying by me. I’m all Heck naw, she ain’t out running me.

Well she did. By a looong shot. Then like three more girls catch up to me but by then I’d made it all the way around and was quitting.

Now these girls were chatting and stretching outside when I started my run. They probably started when I was already halfway around and they still caught me. Dang.

Now I present to you my totally good and valid excuses as to why I got smoked by some teenyboppers:

  • I had already done 40 minutes of cardio and they hadn’t even broken a sweat yet
  • They are quite a bit younger than me
  • I had to poop. Really, it’s hard to run when you gotta go twosies

It was the first time I actually ran outside in my new shoes. I didn’t strain or pull anything. I’ll write up a review of said shoes in the near future.

Papa got a brand new pair of shoes

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Sometimes I’m a sucker for advertising. But. In this case I had actually been thinking about getting some strictly gym/working out shoes. My everyday shoes are what I’ve been wearing to the gym and sweating in. And they stink. So I wanted some gym-only shoes and try and defunkify my other shoes.

I’ve been seeing the commercials for the Nike Free Training shoes. Run Barefoot. etc. They’re supposed to be like running barefoot and the point of it all is to strengthen your foot. I guess it’s kinda like free weights versus weight machines. Using free weights will make you use more muscles.

I tried some on at my local athletic retail store and they felt really nice. But they didn’t have my size in the style I wanted. We were in Tupelo today treating M’s dad to Father’s day lunch. So we swung by the mall and I went shopping.

I visited every shoe store and found the one that had the best selection. They also had the “best” sales people. He explained that I shouldn’t put these shoes on and go running right away. Why? Because I didn’t grow up in Kenya running barefoot so my feet won’t be strong enough to handle it and I’d strain and/or pull something in my feet. Ok. I guess I’ll walk around for a bit first. Nah, I’ll just hit the stairclimber and treadmill and see what happens. Also, I should buy some sole inserts because they will pad his commission, er, I mean, pad my feet better. But I thought the whole point was to run barefoot? Not barefoot with rubber pads strapped to my feet. So I declined the inserts, though they did feel nice (he had me try them out and walk around of course). I added a headband and a Lance Armstrong cancer donation yellow bracelet thingy (which I gave to my sis-in-law) to my purchase and called it a day.

I’ll be trying these shoes out in the morning at the gym. If they suck, I’ll never speak of them again. If they’re awesome, I’ll expect monetary compensation from the Nike marketing department since I’ll be plugging them like mad here.