All worn out

Yes, I'm all worn out.

Actually, my shoes are.

Sorry that I haven't posted recently. To bring you up to speed, I ended up running three days last week. It was an awkward schedule because Liam had to be at Cub Scout camp by 8 a.m. Monday through Thursday, and that meant I had to get up at 5:30.

So, I was able to do that on Monday. I ran close to five miles in 1 hour and 2 minutes. On Tuesday, I ran about four miles in 48:47, and on Wednesday I ran 1 hour exactly.

But on Thursday morning -- the fourth day in a row of getting up at 5:30 -- my body just said "No way!" As I've said before, it seems like I need to keep everything in balance so that I can run. Getting up too early, too many days in a row, just threw off my stride.

Not only was I tired and sleepy, but it was the kind of tired that was difficult to get any rest -- if you know what I mean? Too tired to sleep.

On Friday, I was able to sleep in a little, but it was raining when I stepped outside. I checked the radar and saw thunderstorms were coming in, so I skipped that day too. But then I also took a good look at the soles of my shoes and wondered about the slowly building foot pain.

Take a look:

I have to say that these look as bad as they might if I'd been training for the marathon with 20-mile runs. I bought these only a year ago.

Why have they worn out so fast? Because of my weight. All those extra pounds slamming into the road over and over again wore out the rubber.

Amy and I spent Saturday morning trying to decide which store to go to buy a new pair. After a few phone calls and searches of the Internet, I settled on getting the next generation of my current shoes: The Nike Structure Triax. Mine are No. 12 in that style, which are just about all off the shelves. So, the ones I need are the Structure Triax 14, but those are not in all the stores yet.

So, I ordered them online, the first time I bought a pair of shoes over the Internet. I'm hoping they will fit and be comfortable. But I've had good luck with Nike and with this style, so I'm hopeful. I also signed up as a member so I can get a free return if needed.

Now, I am waiting for my shoes to arrive. In the meantime, I'm scaling back and limiting myself to either the regular bike or the exercise bike until they get here.

I'll keep you up to date. I promise. This is just a pause, not a complete stop.

4 miles in 51 minutes

I had no idea I'd hit the four-mile goal until I plugged my route into Google maps later on. The run felt good on the way out, and slower on the way back. I'm learning not to worry about it so much because every day I am increasing the length of my runs by time and distance.

My pace today averaged out to 12:45 per mile. Well, every time I finish is a victory for me.

It showered while I was stretching before the run, so I went back inside to get a Ziplock bag for my phone. Another shower started as I began my run, but it was light and so I just tucked the rim of my hat close to my glasses and chugged on.

I don't know what I'd do if I got caught out in a heavy rain or thunderstorm. Take cover and call for Amy, I guess.

On my outbound run, I saw a sheriff's deputy standing guard as a red pickup was being towed away. Something happened there.

Going up the hill on Overlook Drive, I pass a homeowner and tell her, "Nice hill you have here."

My BMI is now down to 34.7. I am approaching one of my mileposts in weight loss. If I get the BMI down below 34.4, I will wait one more week and then I'll be discussing actual pounds.

I've decided to ignore the two days I missed earlier this week. It is more important for me to bike on Saturday because I need to keep up the strength in my knees.

Later

Day off

Today's my day off from running or biking. I will be trying to bike a couple of hours Sunday morning before church.

See you later.