Running gear is fun

So yesterday I tried out a couple new things, photographing all my food for the blog, and biking to work. Biking to work gets a thumbs up, but I'm pretty excited to just be able to chow down today without trying to find the right angle for a picture. 

I should mention that I'm a member of the clean plate club, or in yesterday's case, the clean tupperware club. I've been making food and serving myself for quite a while now, so I think I'm a decent judge of how much I need to eat to feel full. I ate every last drop of everything I posted yesterday.

I know, I know, it's lame, I didn't realize quite how lame and HLB-ish it was until I saw it all posted together. Unfortunately, I really can't say this is atypical at all for me. I don't always have a second snack, it depends when I'm able to get home for dinner/how hungry I am. I do normally have dessert, obviously, but last week I was on vacation, and went a little crazy with desserts and drinks, as one should on vacation. So this week I'm trying to tone it down a tad. At least the general consensus was that, while boring and healthy, it was a lot of food. 

Moving on to more fun stuff - I tried out some new running gear yesterday! I'm not going to review it, because reviews are boring, and I hate reading long detailed descriptions of expensive products that I'm not going to buy. I'm just going to share some random thoughts.

I love Brooks, and got sucked into their PureProject, and bought a pair of Pure Flows. The Pure line is supposed to be lightweight and springy, and encourage a more natural stride. I've been dying to try them, but I've heard you are supposed to start with a shorter run. Yesterday, when I had a magic extra half hour, I couldn't get them on fast enough for a run.

For once, a before run, non sweaty pic.

I swear I didn't only buy them because they were pretty.

I could tell right away they were lighter, and felt the ground more than in my usual Adrenalines, which have a lot more cushioning. When going up hill, I felt all dainty, like a sprightly little nymph. In my mind, I was bouncing right up the hill on my toes, and I have no doubts that if you asked drivers who rode by me, they would have described me in those exact words.

I did feel a lot more impact on my midfoot, so maybe that's why you are supposed to ease in slowly to get used to it. I wouldn't run a 20 miler in these, but I still really loved them and I'm so glad I bought them. For the record, I ran a 5K at an 8:17 pace, which is quite fast for me, especially on a hilly route. 

That's not the only new thing I tried on this run, though! While I love, love, love my Garmin, I used a Nike + GPS watch. 

It didn't help me to run at a 7:27 pace.

I'll always have a special place in my heart for my Garmin, but I must admit, I really liked how much smaller the Nike + is.

It's almost like a normal watch!

It also says nice things to encourage you

The display is smaller, and split into two sections. The larger one shows whatever data you choose (in my case, distance) and the smaller one rotates between all the other stuff (pace, time, etc). Since I've been kind of over obsessing about my average pace, I enjoyed not having it staring at me the whole time.

It also plugs right into the computer, so you don't need a charger.

Apparently it compares you to others. After a whopping two runs, I came out pretty favorably, much better than I do on Daily Mile.  

   I don't know if I'll switch over entirely, but I'm enjoying having two GPS watches right now. My sister's due date is just 4 days away, so my Garmin is packed in my emergency drive 400 miles to meet my nephew bag.

It's basically running clothes and makeup. I can't be an ugly Aunt.

Oh wait, why would a poor teacher on a summer salary (hint: that means no salary) buy all these new running things she doesn't really need? 

The Nike + watch retails for $169, and the shoes are $90. Guess how much I paid for both?

Around $30. Maybe closer to $40 with shipping.

The shoes I got at a massive discount after doing a Brooks online training. Nike reps came to visit my running store to do a training, and the rumor was we'd get an "incentive" for attending. I was really hoping for some sweet moisture wicking socks. Instead, we all got the watches - for free!

FYI, this is not "disclosure", neither Nike nor Brooks know I have a blog, and I highly doubt they'd care if they did. These are both perks of my new wonderful job, and I just wanted to brag about them because I love deals.

Would you/have you tried all the new trendy, lightweight or minimalist shoes? This is probably as low as I'll go in terms of support. You won't see me in Vibrams.

Are you a member of the clean plate club?