Bad Blogger

I know, it's been more than a month since my last post. There are no excuses for that lack of activity, but frankly I haven't even been feeling like running lately, let alone writing about running. It's not that I'm not training, I've been able to run most days and fit in speedwork and long runs on a semi-regular basis. Honestly, I'm probably in better shape now than at any other point this year. But I think I'm really bored with the training routine.

That's not to say I haven't done anything interesting. I have a new shoe that I have been trying to incorporate into my running, the Brooks Launch. I've put almost 100 miles in on these shoes and I have to say I am really happy with the results. Primarily I bought these as a "lightweight" trainer, to train speedwork and to race in. Honestly, these weigh in closer to the middleweight class, but as I have only run in the Adrenaline series and the Cascadia trail shoe I thought these would be a good starting point for me. The transition on these shoes is really smooth and the cushioning is soft enough to let my foot move the way it wants to. The end result is that I feel like I am running on little clouds. With less stability I definitely feel the difference in my legs, I tend to land a little closer to my midfoot with these on and the first few long runs I felt sore in my calves. That soreness has long gone now and I do not hesitate to take them out on 14-16 mile runs. I think in the end that the Launch will be my permanent marathon trainer/racer with the extra cushioning for longer mileage. They are probably a little heavy to race a 5k or 10k in though, so eventually I may try to move down the racer line a little more.

With the end of my Team Gangels crewing duties it is time for me to focus on the next race at hand. The Indian Summer Half Marathon on September 13! At one point I was thinking I could PR at this event, but this week I have been feeling under the weather and with just a few training weeks left I may not have enough to pull out another sub-1:30 effort. So my plan is to go out and have fun, if I'm feeling good it will happen. Even if I crash and burn out there I will still get the pint glass!