So I did my 6 miler on Sunday and that went well. I went out a little later than I had planned and it was already sunny and getting a little hot. The 3 miles out were fine, but the 3 miles back were warmer than I would have liked. Oh, and I did the run in my new shoes!

On Saturday, I went to my local running store and spent well over an hour trying on a variety of motion control shoes. My Saucony Regulates are way discontinued and I have been subsisting on pairs that I bought on clearance a few years ago. They’re fine for shorter runs, but they have 2 design flaws that, I think, contributed to my bursitis, which I am still kind of dealing with, only on the other foot now.

The first issue I had with the Sauconys was the gigantic heel. The design reason for this seems to be to help your foot roll forward quickly.  That’s fine, but I felt like it put more weight/impact on my forefoot. The second issue was, as you may have guessed, the forefoot cushioning. Like I said, fine for shorter runs, but pounding for an hour or more on the balls of my feet (I am more of a flat foot striker, not a heel striker) was really doing a number on me.

Anyway, I tried on the Brooks Adrenaline, Saucony Hurricane, Addidas Supernova Control, and the Asics Evolution 3, which was the clear winner. I couldn’t believe how comfortable they were. The only thing I don’t like about them is that they are a lot wider in the forefoot than I am used to, so I have to lace them down pretty tight in the front. So I bought them, and my run on Sunday was really good, in spite of the tiny arch blister I got at the end.

I did a few more runs in my Asics this week, 3 milers. No blisters. And the heavens parted and the light shown down on my brand new shoes, which are white-white-white and very sparkly with silver and blue, and all was right with running.

And then I got a cold.

But yay for Emergen-C, and a day home from work, and for sleeping for 18 hours in one day, and then feeling better the next day, so we shall see.

Well, I had my first class and it went pretty much as I expected. There are 2 instructors, and there is an online option for the class so the lectures are filmed and there are mics all around the room where students’ questions are recorded along with the lecture. There is a live feed w/chat for distance learners and the archived lectures (which will mostly be guest speakers) will be posted to the class web site a few days later. Things really have changed since I was in school… um… 12 years ago.

But on the other hand, no, they haven’t changed. The questions students had were very much the same as I remember from undergrad, the note-taking was as varied as can be, with a super scribe on my left (a very nice woman who is originally from Cleveland, go figure), and the kid on my right who wrote 3 or 4 sentences over the whole 2 hours. There was even the annoying student in the front row – the one who had visited more museums in the last 6 months than everyone, who talked to the instructor non-stop during the break, etc. That was oddly comforting, to have it feel so familiar.

Anyway, lots of reading to do in the next few weeks, and I have to visit a museum or two before my first assignment is due.

Got home too late to run last night and was exhausted, but I’ll run 4 tonight and see how my foot is. I’m thinking of investing in a different brand of shoe, something with more cushion in the forefoot, so it’s off to Marathon Sports tomorrow, I guess. I do my 6 miler on Sunday.

Yes, that’s right. I’ve been running. My foot issues finally seem to be under control, and I’m up to running 5 miles comfortably. Well, comfortably hard, but still. I ice my foot after every run, take an anti-inflammatory the evening after my long run, and I’ve been wearing a 3/4 insole in my everyday shoes, which helps a lot.

Anyway, I had been talking about Tufts with Elissa for some time now, and I told her that if my foot felt good after my 5-miler on Sunday, I’d register for the race. Then, someone alerted me to the Boston Firefighters 10K, which is 2 weeks after Tufts. Given the recent fire in West Roxbury, where 2 firefighters died just a few blocks away from our home, I had to sign up.

Now you may say, “that’s crazy talk,” but you know, that’s the way I like it. So there.

Elissa signed up, too, so we’re doing both races together. I hope she’ll slow down for me. :)

On tap this week, a 5.5 mile long run, 2 3-milers, and a few blocks of speedy running with Bo, every day, at the end of our morning walk. He likes running more than I do!