Nike

This entire week has been a hot mess.

| cheriarmour

A hot mess.  The universe is off-kilter.  Between Monday’s horrific tragedy in Boston, and continued weird events throughout the week, I am 100% confident in saying, that we all could use a vacation.  And a hug.  And a smile.

And knowing that the universe was acting strangely, I forced myself to run yesterday.  And usually when I do this, it  ends well.

My first mistake?  It was over 80 degrees, kinda humid, and I was wearing Nike Dri-Fit Capris.  “Oh, it’ll be fine, these hot capris will keep your chub from rubbing!”  False.

Then, I drank enough liquid to solve the clean water crisis in Africa.  I was thirsty!

Third?  I really didn’t feel like running.  Not I was just being lazy.  I really wasn’t feeling it!  But sometimes, it’s hard to tell the difference between laziness, and your body telling you to chill.  Learn to tell that difference.  So you won’t be a mess like me.

I set out on a short run before I had to teach a class yesterday.  And I began my gallop down the sidewalk with the grace of a Holstein Cow.  Took a few more steps.  And the liquid began to slosh around in my belly.  My pace fluctuated as wildly as my breathing did.  Sweat began to drip into my eyes.  And all I could think was.  “Shucks.  This is a bad run.”

It was a bad run.  Really bad.  I haven’t felt so defeated since I began to run.  And you know what you do when you have a bad run?  Drop it low, do a dance, be grateful you’re not injured, take a day off, and revisit running when you feel up to it.

Bad runs happen.  You’re emotionally drained.  You’re physically exhausted.  Your girlfriend just dumped you.  You lost your house.  You’re going through a divorce.  And your body is like. “Nope.  I need to expend energy grieving and repairing myself, not messing around here in this hot weather, inappropriately dressed.”  At that point, it’s tempting to push yourself harder, and try and redeem yourself, prove to yourself you can run.  You can.  You know it.  You’ve run 5ks, 10ks, half-marathons, marathons.  You need a break.  So when a bad run happens to you, (and it will, because you’re a human being), take it in stride.  Take a day off.  Come back when you feel ready to come back.  Dress a little more appropriately.  And do your thing a little better and smarter next time.

 

Q: When is it time to get new running shoes?

| cheriarmour

First off, can we just clap it up for me and say that I have my finger on the pulse of female running society?  Look what came up yesterday no sooner than I posted that entry featuring all my ladies without makeup.

Tyra Banks Sighting In New York City - September 17, 2012

It’s none other than Miz Tyra, working out and makeup free.  I guess I just rock.

Moving right along however, this is a question I get pretty often.  How do I know when it’s time to change my running shoes out?  So the rule of thumb when it comes to a regular, traditional running shoe, is that you’re going to get, at the absolute MOST, 350-400 miles out of a shoe.  That’s it.  Sometimes less, but definitely not more.

350-400 miles sounds like a lot, but it’s really not as much as you think.  If you’re only wearing your running shoes to run in, and you’re running 15-20 miles a week, you can do the math, and it adds up quickly!

So here’s how you can extend the life of your running shoes: (they’re gonna average you $110 a pair, so you may want to pay attention)

–Alternate between two pairs of running shoes.  When you do this, especially between long runs, you give your shoe a chance to recover.  The foam/cushioning gets a change to regain it’s original shape, and the shoe gets a chance to dry.

– Stop shoving your feet into your shoe when you’re rushing off to the gym. I know you’re guilty of this.  You’re running off to the gym, and you shove your foot in without untying the shoe.  You’re not three years old, there’s no velcro, so take the time out to untie your shoe and put it on.  When you shove your hoof in, or worse yet, when you walk around on the back of your shoes when you go to check the mail, you destroy the back of the shoe, as well as the structure built to support your heel.  So sit down, and take the extra few seconds to tie/untie your shoes.

–Save your running shoes for running only. Don’t go to Whole Foods in your shoe.  Don’t go to cycling in your shoe.  Don’t check the mail in your shoe.  Don’t go to the club in your shoe.  And don’t climb a tree in your shoe.  All these activities put mileage on your shoe.  So if you find you’re going to Zumba or Cycling pretty often as well, buy a special shoe for each of these activities.  Usually Adidas, Reebok, and Nike have a pretty decent selection of “lifestyle” shoes if you’re dancing or doing step, and check with your local cycling shop if you need a pair of cycling shoes.

–Let your shoes air out in your home, not in your car, between runs.  The EVA foam and cushioning in shoes is temperamental, and doesn’t like to sit in your car, where the temperature can go from one extreme to the next.  So between workouts, take a few seconds and let your shoe air out.  Untie the laces, and open up the shoe for a while so it can breathe and retain shape.

So if you’re kind of sick of only figuring you need a new shoe when your knee starts to ache, try documenting your mileage a tad better, and the guessing game should be over.

shoe heaven
Cher’s Shoe Graveyard

Being nice to a stranger turned out awesome!

| cheriarmour

Sometimes it’s tempting to be a grouchy pain in the butt, but I (and I hope I’m not the only one), sometimes have to remind myself that being a grouchy pain isn’t any fun, and that I need to be sweet, because everyone deserves that.

The other morning, a woman walked into work with a cane, looking to be fit for a pair of sneakers.  We got to chatting on the fit stool, and as it turned out, she’d battled with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), and she was dealing with a flare-up of sorts, and had been using the cane for a month.  We chatted for a while, because CFS is similar in its manifestation to Fibromyalgia, which my mother has struggled with for years.  So we found her a pair of shoes, and we looked for shirts that would be a nice fabric for her to be able to wear when her CFS was flaring up.  Took like 30 or 40 minutes out of my day, and I thought nothing of it.

As I was helping her find a few things, I’d gotten cold, so I’d pulled a Nike hooded half-zip jacket off the rack, and wore it around while we poked around for some things for her to wear.  She’d complimented the color.

So a few days later, I roll into work, and there was a bag with my name on it.  Inside the bag was a jacket, and a note for the name of a specialist who may be able to help my mom.  And the jacket.  Wow.  Whoa.

hoodie
Sister to my Nike Element Full Zip, this is the Nike Element Hooded Half-Zip. Still warm and fuzzy on the inside, plus an adorable hood you can pull over to protect from a light rain or wind. This one isn’t going to protect you from wind as well as the full-zip, but it seems like it may retain heat just a little bit better.

Beside the fact that the jacket is warm, cute, and has the most adorable little hood thing on top, I’m going to wear this around as a reminder to be nice, even when you don’t feel like it. Not because people will buy you jackets, which is totally cool too, but because clearly, our chat meant enough to this kind lady to return to the store, go out of her way, and take time to put a smile on my face. At any rate, send a lot of good vibes her way, so we can get her back running like she wants to do 🙂

Disappointing start to Saturday

| cheriarmour

I was hoping to run a quick short run before I headed to Zumba today – and I got new gear that I wanted to try out, so I was extra pumped.

So I bundled up, and was met with the remnants of last night’s “weather event”

Weather 1

Aw shucks.  Maybe the street is better?

Weather 2

 

And as I was stepping of the complex into the street, I slipped, with the Jacksons “Enjoy Yourself” playing as the soundtrack.

Weather 3

 

I’m gonna have to try again tomorrow with my new gear (the Nike Element Shield Full-Zip in the most gorgeous shade of orange-red you’ve ever seen that looks AMAZING with my skin tone but whatever), and hopefully, 16 miles doesn’t hurt too badly after a day off.