Total mileage

I was surprised when I looked back through my workout logs and totaled my running miles. I had only just started running in late 2005 so there were not many miles then. 2006 I ran much more but that was still light on miles. I had some injuries in 2007 but was able to get quite a few miles in at the end of the year. I'm building base miles in preparation for a spring-2008 marathon.

My totals:
2007 - 920
2006 - 417
2005 - 88

Lifetime total - 1426

--Mark

Knee issue...

On Tuesday I ran 9 but later that day I could tell that I 'tweaked' my left knee. On Wednesday it was painful during some of the forward kicks during Kickboxing class. It took me awhile to figure it out..... There were several different workout 'factors' in the past few days. 1) ran with new and different shoes on Saturday. 2) ran with new shoes that I love on Sunday - these are the same model as my current shoes. 3) In hydro training class on Monday I wore old running shoes in the pool because I wore out cheap water shoes in just three classes. 4) ran outside for the first time in 3 weeks in partial snow/ice conditions.

I decided that what hurt my knee was wearing running shoes in the hydro training class. There was significantly more stresses put on my legs wearing running shoes vs water shoes do to the much larger surface area of the running shoes. The resistance was much greater than before and I could feel the added stress on my knees during class during some of the exercises.

Well.... I ran outside again yesterday and didn't notice my knee very much while running and it is feeling better every day. Today it was just fine for a 4 mile run. I'm recovering very quickly from this minor knee injury. Thank goodness!

--Mark

New shoes

I tried ASICS GT 2120's this morning. I picked them up yesterday because they were on sale and many people love ASICS. My experience with them was a blister on the end of my second toe and also the heels were a tiny bit too loose. It looks like I'll be sticking with Brooks Adrenaline GTS for awhile. I'll need about 3 new pairs to rotate through from now until the Fargo Marathon in May. After approx 400 miles, the Brooks loose too much cushioning and my feet start to hurt. I didn't like last years GTS 6's as much as the earlier 5's or my current 7's. I hope the 8's that come out next year are as good as the GTS 7's I'm running in now.

*** Afternoon update - I went to Run N Fun in St. Paul because the two general sporting goods stores near me didn't have my size in the Brooks shoes. I asked the guy at Run N Fun to let me try other shoes similar to the Brooks. I tried four other shoes as well as the Brooks. Only the Brooks fit like a glove. They are still perfect for me. I bought two pairs, one with yellow accents, the other with orange accents. My current ones are blue so I won't have any issues getting them mixed-up while rotating them. I'm happy for now and will get another two pairs in a few weeks and I'll be all set for many months.

--Mark