But when my knees, which never bother me, start twinging with little aches, then I know it's time to get that new pair of running shoes. So I went down to my local running store, Brazos Running Company, and walked out with these beauties in hand:
Finally, Hoka is coming up with some better colors for their shoes - I really like this blue/neon orange combo.
These are the Hoka Clifton 3 - I've had several pairs of the Clifton 1, but hated the Clifton 2 - they hurt the tops of my toes when I ran, so I returned them and made do with the older version. The latest incantation has a wider toe box and they feel good...plus, I'm taller when I wear them - seriously! I noticed the difference when I put them on and then went to brush my teeth...I practically towered over my sink. Well, towered for me. But hey, fresh soles that haven't been compressed by several hundred miles of running makes for a tall Shelley!
I've only run in these shoes a handful of times, but I do like them. I was a little concerned because the version I was running in did not have a padded tongue, which made them super comfortable for wearing with the arthritic bone spur on the top of my left foot - with all other running shoes, I had to do a special lacing technique that didn't cross over the spur, but with the Clifton 1 I didn't have to do that. The new shoes have a padded tongue, but so far it hasn't bothered the top of my foot with them being laced normally. Another change I like about these shoes is that the laces are flat and seem to stay tightened without my having to double knot them. So far, so good with the new Clifton 3s!
********************
Our entire group ran together on Saturday - everyone was back from vacation! It was really nice to hear so many conversations crossing each other, with all of the catching up and such. Breakfast at Blue Baker was loud and crazy and fun, just the way I like it.
But back to the running - Diane and I ran 4 miles together and it was a challenge. Imagine yourself in a place where there is absolutely no breeze at all, crank up the humidity to 100%, and the starting temperature at 75 degrees and you would be with us last Saturday. It was a bit on the rough side to be sure. The good news is that we survived, and we even ran up both of our hills without stopping, so I'm giving us a huge pat on the back for that.
Afterward, we all sprawled out and I took a quick picture - not the greatest in terms of getting everyone in, but we all looked so colorful that I had to document the moment:
Happy sweaty group!
********************
This week, I've run with Diane, run with Jeff, walked with Jenny, and will run with Cary tomorrow...I think the term "social runner" applies to me, haha. Besides, how else will we solve the world's problems - or at the very least, our own - if we don't get our run therapy in?
