New Mizuno Wave Precisions

Since my marathon days are long gone, and the mileage and months have passed, I've taken some time to think about what shoe I should move into next.  I loved my Asics Gel Kayanos for marathon training, however I know they are a bit too heavy for lighter training and shorter distances.  Low and behold, I discovered the Mizuno Wave Precision 11 shoes.

 

Although I realize that a later version has come out of the shoe, I looked up some specs and discovered that there were only minor touch ups.  Thus, making the 11's much more affordable, especially when one has a $25 Amazon Coupon she received back in 2006!  Woah. Woah. Woah. Hold the phone. As I was writing this post, I realized that Running Warehouse has them even cheaper for $60!!!  And free shipping!

ANYWAYYY> before I got to try out my new little precious's, I had to get through a day of adventure camp...and look what the cat dragged in.

A day full of rollerblading! (By the way, due to inclement weather, tomorrow I'll be heading to an indoor water park, ha!) Because I work with 12-13 year olds, I had to follow the counselor code of honor (I made this up) that you must always be weird, yet always be a role model. Thus, we have a helmet, knee pads, elbow pads, wrist guards, and sweet rainbow socks.  My co-counselor Jen also rocked this look!

Awesome.  So after a day full of lessons around my good ol' South Boston Castle Island, I got home and felt the opposite of good.  I felt bad, real bad. Like cranky, headache, tired bad.  The run didn't look feasible.

Yet, I persevered. Hollllaa!!! Something inside of me was like. LAUREN. Get out there and RUN!  You have to test out these new Mizuno's and see if they are worth the penny that bought them! 

Then I ran. 

The Mizuno Wave Precisions are a training/racing shoe.  They are light, they are airy, and in one run I noticed a huge difference in the way I felt.  Although my 3.5 mile run was at an 8:30 pace, slower than some other runs, I felt AWESOME.  There are a neutral runner's shoe, although someone with a little bit of a later overpronation in their foot strike, such in moi, benefits from a tiny bit of stability which the Mizuno's certainly provide despite the lighter feel. Obviously not the stability of a marathon shoe, but I don't need shoes to keep my feet happy and healthy for 26.2 miles.  More like, 13.1. 

(BT dubbs. My pacing was slower because I'm building endurance, thanks in part to reading Cely from Running Off the Reeses' post about the book Run less Run faster.  This girl's got speed.  She ain't got endurance.  YEa yea yea. I know, I'm faster than a lot of other newbie runners, but its no where near where I want my pace to be...Cue Boston Qualifying time.  Years of work will go into that...So right now I'm learning to not run as fast in order to build up my endurance.  I'm tired of my everyday speedwork sesh's.  They donna help NOBODY.)

When I got home, I took off my shoes, and then kissed them.  Mostly because I needed to take a picture.

Little did you know, I was kissing them as I flexed the shoe on my muscle. Well, you might have known because you looked at this blog.  But I digress.

I love the Mizuno Wave Precision running shoes and I hope you do too.

P.s.- Yes this is the exact outfit that Skinny Runner had on. I don't care, I bought it. I'm weak.  She's pretty, and fast, and I want to be TOO.

MERGHS and YAHOOOS!

Dear Readers,
    This week has been full of MERGHS (working late, pain in leg, weird fortune, expensive bill) and YAHOOS (a better fit for all, start of april break yessss!)!

    Let me explain: First off. a Mergh:

 

Ok well it was pretty sweet when I got a mini package from go mom go that included sticky notes and these fortune gumballs.  The weird part was when I opened my love fortune.

It read:

"Your soul mate is the chubby one standing with the ice cream cone."

Uh. ok. Neat.

Merghs number two and three go hand in hand. First off, lots of work before vacation, meaning late nights with no chance to run.  Mergh.

Then, with no chance to run, the days that I did run, I experienced a lot of muscle pain in my shin/calf area.  Basically, I have an unstable ankle joint.

I kind of knew this about myself, because when I am on heels...although I'm quite comfortable in heels and came out of the womb in them, my ankle has always wobbled a little.

Ok, I've always noticed this, but what I didn't know is how it affects your running.  Basically, with the wrong type of shoe, the entire time I run, the more my ankle and calf are trying to stabilize my gait.  Its kind of like I run on stability balls.  Hey my calves might look beautiful but the more I train, the more this hurts and the more I have to stop.  BLERGH AND MERGH.

Why is that annoying?  Because I just got fitted for new shoes at Marathon Sports and this is the second time I have been burned by them!  Instead, I went to the South Boston Running Emporium to have my gait and arches looked at.  Bill, the owner, has run 30 marathons and still drinks like a fish.  I trust him, he's a straight shooter who hates barefoot running and speedwork.  His fastest race was a 2:40 finish when he was 21.  To this very day, although I don't know how old he is, but roughly 25-30 marathons later, he still ran Boston last year in 3:05.  

Ok so Bill checked out my swagger...

And just as I had hoped and feared....

I'm wearing the wrong frick frack shoe.  

This is me realizing I have bought shoes, and spent good money, on something that makes running harder for me, rather than helping.

 

Ahhh, even with my team and training discount at the Running Emporium, I still had to spend a lot of money on a new shoe.  But, as I told Bill and will tell all of you; I would rather spend that money then not be able to complete this.  I would rather run pain free and feel that high, then sit one out or have to walk because the tightness of my muscles makes it impossible for me to run.

So now, onto the YAHOOOSS!

This was me, after realizing that I'm in a better spot with my new shoes: 

The Asics Gel-Kayano.  In White and Blue.  Sadly, I knew pink shoes would be too good to be true.

Here is the review of my shoe (rhyming, holllaa) here at Runner's World.

Although, I've just pasted it basically for you below:

The Kayano's plush, foot-hugging comfort is a pleasant surprise in a shoe that offers so much impact protection. The heel packs a heap of Gel cushioning, providing a supportive landing pad for the foot and helping to make this update one of the heaviest shoes in this guide. Testers loved the Kayano's support and fit but were split in their opinions of the off-set lacing system, with an equal number loving and hating the way it wrapped the forefoot. Recommended as a stable, well-cushioned everyday training shoe.

I don't know about the reviewers, but I think the off-set lacing system gives it street cred.  Makes them look bad donkey.  

Did any of you get that joke?

I work in schools give me a break.

Ok another Yahoo is, that, its school vacation!

Because of this, I get to sleep for a whole week, rest up, relax, enjoy the Boston Marathon, cheer for my coaches, cheer for Skinny Runner, cheer for myself, run 16 miles next saturday, and give myself a break in the sunshine!

Also, here is a pizza I heated up ala Trader Joe's, but added some pizzazz to it, to make it more satisfying.

 

It was a veggie pizza for 250 calories.  I added apple chicken sausage and some goat cheese for flavor.  Delish!

Tomorrow, I am getting in a 10 mile run with Kristy and Saturday I'm coaching the B.A.A. running relay team!  

And remember kids...whatever you do, if you're training for an important race, big or small, the right shoe is the MONEY MAKER!