Questions Answered

I checked my NB insert (per Rachael's instructions) and found that when I pushed down on the center, it wasn't lying flat against the sole of the shoe, but rather formed a small tent like shape.  I returned to the NB store and told them about my displeasure with the product.  The associate looked at the insert box and said my problem might be due to the inserts being for a wide shoe--I think they were EE or EEE sized.  I wear a regular sized width shoe.  It stated the width right on the box, but the 'NB Fit Expert' either didn't notice or sold that one to me because they didn't have the regular width one in stock.  I didn't notice because the 'expert' took the insert out of the box and placed them into my shoes for me.  I didn't really look at the box until I was putting them back in to return them.  I'm planning on going to the Fleet Feet store here in town where I hope to receive a final solution to my insert problem.  I would have gone to them earlier, but they are way across town, and since Tucson has such a poorly planned freeway system, it'll take me about 40 minutes to get there if I don't run into traffic.

My stomach problems finally subsided.  I rolled out of bed this morning at 11:30.  Yes, I can still say it was morning because the clock said AM and not PM.  I got dressed, drank some water, stretched and headed out the door.  I've been running one day and then resting the next.  Today's run was the best of the week.  Little to no wind makes a huge difference.  Since I returned my inserts yesterday, I had to run in the inserts that came with the shoes.  I must admit that they are thicker than the standard ones that ususally come with running shoes, but they didn't have anywhere near the cushioning of the ones I returned.  I noticed the difference immediately.  I proceeded anyway with the hope that there wouldn't be any problems.  I felt great for the first 2 miles.  My breathing was good, and the legs didn't feel too heavy.  At 2.5 miles, I noticed my toes beginning to go numb in my left foot.  I had feared this would happen since I had no metatarsal pad in the shoe.  I didn't want to stop without getting 3 miles in. When my left foot was in the air, I clenched my toes as tight as I could in the hopes that the circulation would improve.  To my surprise, it worked.  I only did it for 10-15 steps, but the numbness went away and didn't return. 

When I set out for today's run, I had two questions: 1) Do I still need a metatarsal pad in my shoe? and 2) Do I need a lot of heel cushioning?  The answer to #1 is yes, I want the metatasal pad to relieve the stresses to my forefoot.  The answer to #2 is no, I don't think I need a whole lot of cushioning in the heel.  I felt no pain in the heel then or now and it's been around eight hours since that run.  So far so good--fingers are crossed.  If I don't feel any pain tomorrow, I may try another short run to see how going back to back feels.  I'm still going way too fast and will have to get that under control.  I think I should be doing somewhere between a 9 and 10 minute mile for now. 

One thing I've been pretty happy about is all the saving on clothing that I've been doing.  For the last two months, I've been hitting the clearance racks at the Nike store, Target, and Dicks.  I had been getting savings of 50% off before Chrismas.  After Christmas, I was seeing sales of another 50-75% off of the already discounted clearance prices.  I picked up a lot of running shirts and everyday shirts too.  But, all good things come to an end.  I now see that the additional percent off is no longer available on the clearance section.  The clearance prices are still really good, but it's harder to pay $12.00 for a $20.00 shirt when, a week earlier, it was $4.00.  I missed out on some Livestrong T-shirts that I wanted.  I don't know why I didn't get them for $4.00.  I guess I assumed the super deals would last longer.  Anyone else addicted to the clearance racks?