Running Amok

This morning, I had one of my best runs of the season.

I remind folks that while many are contemplating a new start and new training plan in January, my season is coming to it’s epicenter with the running of the Houston Marathon.

Many folks equate speed with a good run and fortunately, I am not many folks; although I did run my fastest mile of the training season. So, how did I get here?

With the completion of the End of the World Marathon on December 21 I went directly into my pre-Houston Marathon taper. With the exception of my long runs on the weekend, I am approaching the taper by running what I want to run and running by how I feel. Kind of going back to the old school days of my 20’s and early 30’s when I just ran to run because I enjoyed it. I ran in very few races back then, although I was significantly faster than I am now. I also never considered a marathon or even a half marathon.

This morning I layered up and headed out in temperatures just above freezing and the constant ill wind that seems to be ever-present these last couple of weeks with a notion of doing three to three and half miles, maybe four if I was feeling it. Oddly, I felt like doing more, so I did, finishing right at five and half miles and running my fastest mile in a very long time.

Sketch by Brad Fitzpatrick

It wasn’t the fastest mile that made it a great run, though you could argue that it contributed. I wasn’t really clock watching, so it was somewhat of a surprise. It was how I felt during and after the run that made it special. If I had run three or four miles, regardless of how fast, I would have been unsatisfied. But five and a half felt really good this morning, despite the frigid gusts.

Shoe Me

Like a lot of other runners who train for half and full marathons, not to mention ultras and such, I rotate two pairs of shoes with an almost religious fervor. The problem for me is while my Garmin can capture the details of the run, it cannot, unfortunately, tell me what pair of shoes I wore. Hence, a mileage estimate for either pair of shoes is more of a guesstimate than anything.

Enter the MilestonePod, a new product that you can help fund.

The MilestonePod attaches to your shoe laces and according to the campaign information, “allows you to passively track the mileage logged on your running shoes so they can be replaced at the correct time, not too soon (wasting valuable tread) and not too late (potentially causing injury).”

The MilestonePod also allows you to input information the might be critical for emergency responders to be aware of. The information can be be accessed by plugging it in to any USB enabled computer or device.

Miss Zippy first introduced me to this product in a post and after considering it and getting permission from the Boss (Lady J), I went ahead and made a donation to their funding campaign. Now I cannot wait for these babies to be ready.

You can contribute as little as one dollar, but a 15 dollar contribution entitles you to receive a single MilestonePod and a 30 dollar contribution gets you a pair – perfect for the runner with two sets of shoes (like me). There are also other levels you can contribute at with varying perks. For the record, I opted for the Marathoner Pack.

It’s one thing to be the cool kid with the latest and greatest gizmo, it’s an entirely different feeling to be able to say I helped get this cool thing off the ground. You have that opportunity.