SOCKS!

I've bought 5 different pairs of running socks, and I thought I'd give my opinions on the different ones.

SmartWool Running Light Socks

These are easily my least favorite of the 5 pairs I've tried. They are actually the only pair I've bought that I just can't stand running in. I was talking to one of my friends who does tris about socks and he said he loves wool socks...for everything but running. When I was running in these, I actually felt like my feet were on fire. I'll give them another go when it gets cold and burning feet become a positive attribute, but for the rest of summer and most of fall, these will stay in my dresser (msrp $15).

Wigwam Ironman Tail Wind Pro

I like these socks just fine, and I've read a lot of great things about Wigwam socks. One thing I like about Wigwams is that every pair I've seen looks pretty awesome. I'm sure this is a non-issue for a lot of people, but if I'm spending over $10 a pair on socks, I want something special, and these at least look the part. Very comfortable to run in. If you have the means, check them out. If I were going to ask for socks as a gift, it would probably be these (msrp $12).

Feetures Multi-Sport

These are probably the most practical of the "high dollar" socks that I own. They fit great, feel great, keep your feet dry, and pretty much do everything that the Wigwams do, while looking more traditional and fitting a little tighter (which is apparently a good thing). If I'm in the market for an expensive pair of socks, I think these will get my nod because they give you the best bang for your buck (msrp $10).

Pearl Izumi Attack Cushion

The next 2 pairs of socks are probably the best reason I've ever seen to make sure you shop at multiple stores before making up your mind on things. These Pearl Izumis aren't as tight fitting as the Feetures, but keep my feet as dry and are probably more comfortable. Great to run in, I love these socks. My only fear is that since they are almost 1/2 the price per pair of the other socks, they may not last as long, but since all of these socks are pretty new, its just not something I can comment on yet. Great socks for the price (msrp $18 for 3 pairs)

Ascics Performance

This is probably what all of the socks I own will eventually be. Extremely attractive price point, all of the things I like about the Pearl Izumis except these have a lower cut, which I can't hold against the Pearl Izumis since I probably could have bought lower cut ones, but I didn't, so these are more comfy. At $3.33, you won't find a better deal on socks that are designed for physical activity (msrp $10 for 3 pairs)

These 5 pairs of socks are probably not going to be the end of my sock exploring, but I'm glad I'm at the point where I can tell a difference between most of them while I'm wearing them running.

As far as running goes, I've had a busy last few weeks. I've finished my Couch to 5K program and have gone right into one of the 5K training programs from Jeff Galloway's book on 5K/10K running. His training programs seem far and away better than other programs I've seen because he has you doing a lot of "game day" practice, which I haven't really seen in other programs. What I mean by this is that you have several "Race Rehersal" runs, where you run extended distances at your target race pace, which is awesome so you can try to get comfortable in that pace. You also will always at least a couple runs at your race distance or farther, which isn't really a big deal for distances under a marathon, since you are probably running at least your race distance on your long days any way, but his is the only marathon program I've seen that actually has you getting up in the mid/high 20s before your race, so that you know going into your race that you can do it. That will be something I'll be very happy knowing going into my marathon in April.

8/28/10 - An expensive week in running.

This week ended up being one of the more expensive weeks in running I'll probably have. About a month ago I bought a Garmin Forerunner 205, which set me back $115, and I was sure that would be the most I ever spent on running. This week is the last week that all of my friends who work at Gamestop get their 30% off discount at Barnes and Noble, so I figured it would be a good time to stock up on books. I picked up most of the running books by Jeff Galloway that looked interesting, since they seem to be commonly recommended on the Runner's World forums. That set me back about $45. The next day I went and bought my first pair of "real" running shoes, the Mizuno Wave Rider 13s, which set me back another $110. Finally today I ordered 3 pairs of wigwam socks that cost me another $25. Hopefully this will all be a small investment in my health, but still will probably never spend that much in one week on running equipment again.

I took the shoes on their initial run last night after I got off work, and after about the 1 mile mark all of my toes went numb. I don't know why this was, and it didn't happen to me today when I went running, but I'm sure it had something to do with the shoes needing to be broken in or how I shouldn't have gone running at 12:30am after being on my feet all day. Either way the new kicks are really comfortable, and look absolutely ridiculous so I'll probably only ever wear them running.

This weeks stats:
Distance - 22.51 miles
Time - 4:05
Calories - 4030
Average Pace - 10:10/mile
Weight - 223.6 lbs

Got to start somewhere

This is my completely unadvertised blog chronicling my attempt to get myself into shape by trying my hand at a marathon. There are a few facts about me that are essential to understanding how difficult of an undertaking this will be for me:

• When I began my journey, I was severely overweight (5 '9" 291 lbs)
• I'm almost impossible to motivate
• My attention span, no matter what I'm focusing on, rarely lasts longer than 3 weeks

There were a pair of events that happened back to back that caused my fairly radical lifestyle change. The first was attending my older cousin's wedding. He's only a couple years older than me, but at his wedding I realized how far off I was from getting where he was that day, and time wasn't going to slow down for me to catch up. Not saying I want a life identical to my cousins, but things like wife and kids were years away because I had such low self confidence that I wouldn't be able to get that ball rolling without some serious work. The other, similar event was meeting a friend of mine from high school for lunch. It was the first time I had seen him in years, and he had just gotten a job at a law firm after passing the bar. I, on the other hand, was still working the same retail position I have been holding since I dropped out of college. I like my job, and my life has been comfortable for the most part, but being 26 and working a retail counter was never what I had in mind for myself. I told a friend about this and how it made me feel and his words are probably what inspired me to get up and make a change, when he simply said "if there is something about your life you don't like, change it". To the point, and has been effective.

Since mid-April, I've upped the amount of physical activity I do from absolute zero to what I'd say is "moderately active". I spent the first 2 months walking a few miles each day, ocasionally getting some friends to get together for basketball or disc golf a couple times a week. In June a few of my friends and I decided to start training for a 5K using coolrunnings.com's "Couch to 5K" program. This is one of the best gradual running programs out there, and if you are thinking about getting started running, it is pretty unintimidating and eases you into each run pretty well. When we started this training program I also began (and have since eased off of a bit) a pretty strict diet that I got from runnersworld.com titled "The Runner's Diet". Its a pretty nice resource of high energy foods that are low in calories if you are trying to cut back. Even if you aren't dieting, and are just looking for some ways to boost energy, its got a great list of foods and teaches you the benefits of each type of calorie.


So now here I am, about 4 months after having started trying to better myself. As far as weight goes, I've gone from 291 to 227 as of this morning, still about 50 pounds away from where I was at the end of high school, but progress is progress. I'm getting ready to start week 7 of the Couch to 5K program, but unfortunately I don't have a 5K planned for any time too close after I finish the training, so I'm going to have to wait until November 7th for the one Bass Pro is hosting. Odds are I'll probably find one in October to try first, but I'll wait for a good opportunity to present itself.

I've typed up quite a bit of information about myself and my journey to get into shape, but nothing about a marathon yet. Well, almost a year to the day that I started my walking regiment there is going to be a marathon in my home town of Kansas City. I sort of took it as someone telling me I needed to give this a try. I've really enjoyed all the reading I've done on running and training plans, and I think trying to come up with (or follow a good pre-existing) training plan will be a lot of fun. By the time I'm done with my Couch to 5K plan, I'll have about 7 months until this April marathon. I'm confident that will be enough time for me to get the marathon done in my goal time (under 6 hours currently). I know its not the most ambitious goal, but "running" a 13:40 pace for 26.2 miles sounds impossible to me right now, and I don't want to overwhelm myself.

So that is a bunch of poorly written information about me and my quest for a marathon. My plan is to make a post each week summing up my training for the week and occasionally some thoughts on running, runners, shoes, gadgets, whatever. Thanks for reading, I know it was painful, and I refuse to edit it.