April 22nd, 2013 - 3.13 Mile Sprint in NEW SHOES!!!

The continued prayer is, “Lord keep me focused. Keep my mind stayed on You. Help me to bring You praise. I know You believe in me. Please help me in my unbelief. Amen.”

This run was interesting. I had run the day before and I just wanted to get a quick 3-mile sprint in. I felt nice and strong and I maintained a 10-minute pace.

I felt good the entire time. I had taped my toes because I am breaking in a new pair of shoes and got blisters the first time I wore them.



I’ve never worn Under Armor running shoes before but I have always been impressed with their products. A good friend of mine is a really big fan of Under Armor. When she recommended them, I bought a pair….. Several months ago.
They had been sitting in my closet ever since.



New shoes are great. They make you realize that you’re not old per se, you just waited about a month too long to replace your shoes. Generally, I don’t have a problem because I prefer a minimalist approach when it comes to shoes and I tend to have better form the longer I have my shoes. Whenever I can, I’ll do a quick sprint in my 5-Fingers.



If you’ve never worn ‘em, you gotta try ‘em. I really like mine.

Anyway, new shoes, with all their rubbery goodness usually feel great at the time but I almost always end up with hip or knee issues because new shoes blunt that pain you are supposed to feel when you let your form slip.

This is what I was dealing with before this run. You don’t realize how much so-called “good” shoes really mess you up. And these shoes are great…. With a few exceptions, which I will share after a brief moment of praise.

First of all, these shoes are so pretty. You just can’t beat purple running shoes. Secondly, they are *so* light. I love my old Asics and I don’t have a single issue with hip, knee or blister issues when I wear my trusty old Asics, but they are heavier than these shoes.

HOWEVER, the toes box is too narrow. Thus, the super sexy toe-taping. I’ve run in these shoes twice so far and both times I’ve run without socks. I know, I know… Sounds terrible, but that’s where the Spirit led me so I just went with it. The only blister issues seemed to appear on the tips of my big toes.

Draining the blisters and taping the toes seemed to fix the problem and so far, I haven’t had any issues with sockless running. It actually felt really good. I’ll update you when I run more than 4 miles in them.

I am concerned that doing great distances in these shoes will result in loss of toenails, so I’ll start with a 6-mile run and see how it goes. If my toes are happy, I’ll push it to 10 miles. Then I’ll throw in some hills.

Now, regarding Boston: Obviously, my heart goes out to the people of Boston and the runners who participated that day. Being a person of faith, when I heard the news, I immediately sought refuge in prayer. I haven’t stopped running, of course, but I haven’t been able to write about it until now.

Every run that I’ve done since the tragedy has been an impromptu prayer meeting between me and The Lord. I haven’t listened to Michael Jackson at all since it happened…. And if you know me, you know that’s a pretty big deal.

For us fools who Believe, we know that we serve a good God and we know that He is in control. I have no idea why such things are allowed to happen. And while I profess my faith without shame, I don’t condemn or judge others. But I will say that the world needs Jesus right now and always and returning hate for hate is not His Way.

Pray for Boston, because there’s nothing else you can do. Pray for the victims because there is nothing more you can do. I know it’s difficult, but pray for the people behind this tragedy because they are desperately in need of a Savior. And keep running because God has not given us a spirit of fear.

I am so proud of the running community for their strength and tenacity. Throughout this entire ordeal, I have heard many stories of love and support among runners and others in the various communities. Not only that, I haven’t heard of a single instance where a runner has given it up for good or even a short time.

We run because we can. We run because it works. We run to purge our guilt and cast out our demons. We run to save others. And we run to save ourselves.

Remember Boston.



**This is me in my cool Boston Marathon 2013 shirt. My mother-in-law went to Boston earlier this month and brought back shirts for me and the kids. The kids’ shirts say “My mom is faster than your Dad – Boston Marathon 2013”. Mine says “I Don’t Chase Men…. I Pass Them – Boston Marathon 2013”. Very cool.**


On to the Run

April 1st – 3.70 Mile Run
April 6th – 3.76 Mile Run
April 9th – 3.20 Mile Run
April 12th – 3.25 Mile Run
April 18th – 4.35 Mile Run
April 21st – 4.04 Mile Run
April 22nd – 3.13 Mile Run



This is a pic of me and Jordan on the morning of April 16th, wearing racing shirts to work and school in support of runners as a community. I was proud of my boy!!!