Time for new shoes!

My poor ol’ cycling shoes are a little worse for wear.  Way back in July 2010 I was at my Ironman Canada training camp on a ride from Penticton, up Richter Pass and Yellow Lake.  There was some construction happening on the highway we were riding on and we had to ride through a massive mud puddle.  I was covered in mud, there was mud on my helmet and my shoes were all dirtied up.

Most importantly I also came to the realization that my cycling shoes are also a size too small.  They fit fine initially but as my feet swell I can tell that they aren’t as roomy as I’d like.  It is time for some new cycling shoes!

I ordered the updated Shimano WT-52s from Superfly Cycles.  Luckily they arrived just in time for our first spin class at Bow Cycle this Tuesday!  Aren’t they pretty?They felt great at spin class and on the bike last night.

Are you looking for some new cycling shoes?  Superfly Cycles has all of their 2011 styles on for 20% off right now.  And if you are in Canada the shipping is super easy and pretty inexpensive.

Happy Friday all!

Monday Musings

Does it ever feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day?  That was my Monday.  I have a big presentation I’m working on for next week.  I got to work early so I could leave early to swim, but I just didn’t feel like I was in a place to leave when 3 pm rolled around.  Instead I put the back up plan into effect - the 9 pm swim class in Cochrane.  Except I also had a lot to accomplish at home including laundry.  My tax return (very important). 

And a little bike maintenance. 

The Cervelo went into the shop yesterday for a tune up and won’t be ready for pick up until Wednesday.  I needed to get my road bike ready to ride at spin class tomorrow as it has basically been sitting dormant in my garage since early November.  By the time my tax return was done and filed it was 8:20 pm.  I had 10 minutes to make a decision – swim or fix up the bike.

I opted to fix up the bike as I knew there wouldn’t be enough time to do it before spin class tomorrow.  I still feel guilty about not swimming and there is no time this week to make it up.  Oh well…

All of your comments to my Three Things Thursday post gave me a good chuckle.  22 pairs of shoes at work is a lot, I know!  They all go inside one of the drawers of my large filing cabinet at work, along with some body spray and baby wipes for days when it is a little hot over my lunch time run.  22 pairs of shoes doesn’t even begin to approach the total number of shoes I own though as I haven’t counted how many I have at home!  I blame my genes (my mom loves her shoes too!) and years of watching What Not to Wear while living in close proximity to DSW and an Aldo outlet.

Oh, and Rock Star, they are all briefs.  Every single one of them.

Pessimist or Realist…

We’ve had some record high temperatures here these last few days, but here in Calgary we all know what is coming.  I don’t want to be the first one to mention the four letter word…S…N…O…W…  (Seriously though, it has been 30+C these last few days, although that is going to change soon.)

So I’ve been prepping by picking up a new pair of winter boots, but I’m not sure which pair to keep.  I’m leaning towards the one on the left since I feel like I’m missing some skinny jeans or leggings, a big puffy coat and a trip to Vail with some hot celebrity to go with the furry boots.  Any thoughts?

Workouts have been happening this week too, just nothing too much to write about.  A 45 minute run with strides yesterday.  A swim that I had to cut short due to time constraints this morning.  Tomorrow?  A short taper run, then the Melissa’s 10K on Saturday!  Have a great weekend all!

Sometimes Smart, Sometimes Not

Sometimes Smart…

Angie prescribed a round of hill repeats for Sunday for me.  The initial thought was to run after volunteering at the race.  After Saturday’s ridonkulous brick run I knew that would be a bad idea.  So I was up super early on Sunday morning to knock out some hill repeats before heading to the finish line of the Calgary 70.3.  I had 4 x 3 min hills on the schedule and luckily there is a long enough hill in my neighbourhood to fit the bill.  It isn’t as intense a grade as the hill I usually run downtown, but it still provided a good workout.  The legs were a little tired, but it all went well.

Sometimes Not…

Sigh, I have a love for pretty shoes.  Sometimes those pretty shoes don’t love me though.  Typically I reserve them for just wearing around the office, but on Thursday I went on a bit of a hike.  A 10-15 min walk one way to meet a friend for lunch.  My feet were completely unhappy with me afterward.  Wanna see why?
Mirror images on both feet.  Hmmm, chances are good that they won’t be completely healed up by race day.  Luckily they don’t bother me while running.  Just while attempting to wear other pretty shoes.  (See the one inch scar above my ankle?  That’s from a shaving incident 10 years ago!!)

Bring On the Taper!

How is it that your brain and body just knows when you are two weeks out from a race?  All day my stomach has been sending me signals of “feed me”!!  Not to mention that I’ve been feeling pretty restless all day.  While I didn’t quite break last week’s training volume amount, I sure had a great week of running (19.85 mi) and biking (123.55 mi).  Unfortunately I missed a swim and a brick so I didn’t quite beat last week’s volume, but that’s okay!  Now bring on the taper…long run tomorrow…

A Shoe Deal!!

I had a 90 minute massage scheduled after work. Once I was done I called in a take out order to my favourite sushi restaurant and I had about 30 to 45 minutes before it would be ready. I opted to wander around Kensington and visit Ridley's Cycle. I wasn't looking for anything in particular, I just enjoy wandering around the local bike shop. I stepped up the the cycling shoes and noticed some baskets full of shoes on the ground. Tons of men's shoes, maybe three pairs of women's road/triathlon shoes and maybe another three or four pairs of women's mountain biking shoes. All of the women's shoes were a size 40.

I picked up a pair and looked at the price tag. They looked like a huge deal! Unfortunately they were too small. I grabbed a different style to try on just in case. They felt like heaven on my feet. They are the Shimano SH-TR50, a triathlon specific shoe. Rather than my other shoes that have three velcro straps, this has one big strap. The big loop at the back makes it easy to pull these on. Easy on, easy off!
The front of the shoe is also really well ventilated. Inside at the ankle is nicely padded for a snug and comfortable fit. I think these will be really comfortable without socks.The shoes have a carbon fiber sole.There is also a little hole in the sole near the toes. I guess this is to allow for water to drain through after the swim? Pretty cool, eh?These shoes are a 2008 sample pair, which explains why every pair was a size 40. They look to retail for about $170 US, $250 Canadian. I got these babies for $59.99!?!? I got the cleats put on for a few more dollars. I love me a deal and cannot wait to try these out!!

The Make-Up Date

So apparently I shouldn't try to throw my running gear together at 4:45 am. I grabbed black and red tights, a pair of capris, a white short sleeve shirt and a pink long sleeve top. I wasn't sure whether it would be warm enough to wear the capris so I threw the tights in - but red and black with a pink top? I wanted to look cute for my date with running, not challenged at coordinating! It was 6°C (43°F) and sunny when I headed out and I took my chances on potentially freezing and went with the capris. It was a good call - it felt amazing out there! The wind was brisk but it felt so nice in the sunshine. Go figure on this town - freezing and snow yesterday, sunshine and dry pathways today. I was feeling a bit sluggish in the beginning and I was starting to worry that the sub 10:00/miles I've been running lately were just a teaser. Once I turned on to the path by the river it all started coming together though and my pace started dropping as I got into a groove. I finished up my 5 miles - and check out my splits:

• 9:55
• 9:46
• 9:36
• 9:30
• 9:00

How is that for a perfectly paced run? Looks like this make up date with running was a great one! I also broke out some new shoes for the date. My orange Kayano 13s are pretty close to biting the dust and I don't think my teal Kayano 14s will see me through another marathon. It was time to bring out my raspberry Kayano 14s..!

Thumb to Thigh

Yesterday I tackled the full commute again. My legs handled the hills so much better on the way home. Of course I didn't run over lunch yesterday so that may have had something to do with it. Unfortunately the batteries in the Garmin died just at the start of the ride home so I have no idea whether the ride was any better or not, but at least my level of perceived exertion was lower.

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In the evening I went to the pool to swim some laps. I found a drill online - the thumb to thigh drill - that I wanted to give a whirl. Just paying attention to making sure that I was pulling through the water completely helped me feel quite a bit more efficient in the water. I swam 1000m, then called it a night.

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I'll be heading out for my long run of 10 mi tonight. I'm off to Edmonton for a girls' weekend tomorrow morning and I want to get the long run out of the way. Tonight is my night to try some new stuff. I'm going to be breaking in a pair of Kayano 14s for the first time tonight. After getting a blister repeatedly on my right arch from my Kayano 13s I think it is time to retire them from long runs. Besides, I'd like to have my 14s broken in for the marathon in August so now seems like a good time to start. I've been a Sport Beans girl for nutrition during the long run, but I'm keen to try gels out. I find I extend my walk breaks trying to chew the beans so I'm looking for something a bit more efficient. I've picked up a couple of Clif Shots and Hammer Gels and I'll give one a whirl this evening to see how I like it.

The Garmin Must Be Lying...

So first off....last week I came to my little conclusion about high heels and tight calves being responsible for my shin splints. On Saturday I went for a massage and did I have some serious knots in my right calve. No wonder things were hurting on the run! Hopefully the massage has bought me a few weeks of high heeled bliss as I tested these babies out today:

I hummed and hawed on going for a run over lunch today because the temperature was a bit colder than what I had planned for: 3 deg C (37 deg F) and I only had capri pants, a short sleeve top and a long sleeve top. I figured I'd head out anyway though and hopefully the sun would make things feel warm enough. Thank goodness I did head out though because I had an AMAZING run! My Garmin was slow to catch a signal. Once I started running I looked down and thought it must be off because it said I was running way faster than what is usual for me. I settled into my stride and I hit the one mile mark right where I figured - at 9:47. I rarely talk about my training run pace on here because...well...I'm slow. I get excited when I run below an 11 minute mile. Anyhow, when I thought maybe my Garmin might not be off I wanted to see if I could keep this up. I walked for a quick 30 seconds and took off again. I kept checking my pace and I was still on. Mile 2 - 9:42. One mile left to go....a ramp up to a foot bridge took a bit out of my legs right at the end but I managed to salvage it on the final stretch. Mile 3 - 9:59. Good enough for me - all three miles below a 10:00/mi pace....total run done in 29:30...my fastest paced training run yet. And this after my insane hilly run yesterday. As for the shins - they felt great the entire way.

It is all about the shoes...

I've been doing a lot of thinking about shoes lately. I was thinking my pink Asics GT-2110s were responsible for my shin pain but after trying out my oh so comfy Asics Kayano 13's on a lunch time run I was still having shin pain. I'd give up for a few days, then go run early Saturday morning and everything would feel fine. What gives? After having two great feeling runs in a row this week I realized that the dividing factor between good runs and bad runs was whether I ran in the morning or the afternoon, not what shoe I was wearing. Well, at least not what shoe I was wearing on the run. As you've noticed before I have a love for shoes but I've gotten into a rut wearing the boring flat loafer type of shoe all the time. I have this closet of great shoes and I've been trying to let some of these shoes see some daylight. And some pavement. I think that when I wear heels maybe my calves are tightening up while I'm sitting at my desk and when I go for a run and get the blood moving it is translating into shin pain. The interesting thing is on all of my runs the pain starts one mile in and diminishes just before the 3 mile mark. Today I wore heels to work and when my shin started acting up I started to think about this theory. After my shins sorted themselves out I never had any more complaining from them for the rest of the 5 mile run. I started wondering if maybe there was a kinesiology grad student somewhere in need of a research project and maybe they could help me out with my theory. Of course I could just test the theory myself with some flat shoes, but the good news is the severity of my shin pain was a lot less today. Maybe I don't have to give up the heels, maybe this is just something I have to work through. Who knows?

I did find this link over at Run For Life that confirms just how bad high heels are for your feet. Hmm.

Apparently running, actually in high heels, is bad for you too. Particularly if you are claiming workers comp because you are too injured to work, like the fellow who was trying to win Hannah Montana tickets by running around in high heels and women's clothing and had it all caught on video. Oops.