3-Day Weekends Rule

There's nothing like a 3-day weekend and Labor Day weekend is perhaps the best of them all. The weather is great, there's always a picnic or two to attend, etc. With four weeks to go before Akron, I ran 10-miles at planned marathon pace on Saturday morning followed by a 20-miler on Sunday. After my run on Saturday I drove down to Fleet Feet for a shoe clinic, at which time I picked up some New Balance 902's. I was eager to wear them because I've been running in shoes that I bought last November (or older). Instead of waiting for my shorter weekday runs, I decided to wear them for my long run. This isn't the first time I've broken in a pair of shoes on a long run but I've had better luck in the past. About 5 miles in, I felt some discomfort on the front of my ankle and realized it was due to the tongues of my shoes rubbing against my skin. There wasn't much I could do at this point so I pressed on, feeling the pain only when I stopped for water. In the end, I had dime-sized "sores" on each ankle and was dreading getting home and into the shower (this is always when it hurts most). In hindsight, I probably could have adjusted my laces to position the tongue differently. Aside from this, I love the shoes. First and foremost, they're orange (enough said). Secondly, they have a snug heel, a nicely wrapped arch area and plenty of room in the forefoot.

The balance of my weekend was great. I did some work in the yard and around the house, including installation of chair rail in the babies room. Teresa and I went to two Labor Day picnics and watched two good movies (The Shooter and Wild Hogs). Wild Hogs had Teresa rolling and nearly made me spit up my drink.