We have had 3 top 10 days (at least in my opinion) in a row. Fantastic weather, maybe a bit warmish for great running, but it is July and you expect a bit more warmth in the air. Luckily for us this morning the temps were in the 50’s (great sleeping weather), the humidity levels are pretty reasonable, so that makes things so you want to be outside.

Unfortunately, by the time I got to get my run in, the temp had climbed to 77*F, mostly sunny, with a bit of a breeze 8 mph out of the NW. So while it was not ideal, it was definitely runnable.

Tuesday’s are my “faster” day and what that will look like going forward is a day that is “faster” for me and where I am in my training – now, not last month, year or 20 years ago. Since I am still rehabbing that left leg stress fracture/reaction or whatever it was, my definition of faster, is a LOT different than it was back in May.

I figured that I would warm-up for about half a mile and then do telephone fartleks at about an 8:00 minute pace for 3-4 miles or until the leg told me it was time to stop being foolish.

Ahhhh the best laid plans.

When I got down the end of the tar, I saw one of the neighbors out with his Oxen pulling a weight up the road. I also saw that he had his small dog and it was running straight for me with a delivery truck coming up the road too. The neighbor’s dog ignored him, but he also had to take care of the oxen, with the truck coming.

I hollered that I would get his dog back to his driveway and went into attempt to catch and then chase mode after the dog. The dog went into the driveway on its own and I just stayed between it and the road to keep it there. Once the neighbor got up close enough to the drive way, I started running again.

Just one of those neighborly things that happen up heah from time-to-time.

At that point I picked up the pace a little and did a sub 8:00 for the first mile, not too bad considering I wasn’t really trying for a faster pace for the first quarter-mile of the split. Then I decided to take a left up Bartlett to get a little form work going up the hill. The 2.0 mile split was a lot slower, but the effort was good.

Coming back down the hill, I sped back up, but I purposely didn’t push too hard coming and could have gone faster. The last mile split was slower, the heat had climbed into the low 80’s and the breeze was at my back most of the way, so my hat was starting to rain sweat. When that happens I purposely take my foot off the gas and just coast back to the finish.

I did try the toe socks to see if they helped with the right foot little toe/tailor’s bunionette issue that has been cropping up on runs lately no matter which shoes I have been wearing. It seemed to help quite a bit, but still was not as comfortable as I wanted.

When I got to looking at the insoles on the RA Max, I noticed that my right foot hung over the outside edge a bit, which means that the side support structure were digging into the outside of my foot just a little too much.

Which got me to thinking that maybe if I changed out to a thinner insole that might alleviate some of the issue. So after the run, I put my Beacon insoles into the RA Max and walked around a little. The change seemed to make the shoes more comfortable for my feet. I will see how they feel tomorrow when I go for my easy run.

Also while we were at Sam’s Club, I saw some New Balance light-weight socks on sale and figured they would be nice to try them out. We have been looking for some thinner socks for me for a while and these seemed to be what I was looking for. I have plenty of thicker socks for my trail running, but the thin socks have been elusive at a price point I could justify experimenting.

Sometimes minor changes to shoes and socks can make a huge difference in how comfortable a pair of shoes feel on my feet. Just have to keep experimenting until I find the right combination for me.

One thing that I did figure out is that my sandals were bothering my legs too much. So they went away and I put on my emergency shoes in Clifford. That seemed to be a part of the problem as well.

The remodel project is starting to take shape, we got the cabinets up yesterday and today ordered countertops, it will take a couple more weeks, but we are moving forward. Plus the wood for the steps and new deck arrived on the front lawn. So those projects will get worked on a bit this week too.

Yes, there is progress being made.

Speaking of the lawn, Mary and I tag-teamed the lawn and had both lawn mowers going. I can say quite honestly that the left leg does not like me mowing the lawn, it is pretty sore tonight, so I am babying it a little.

Overall, it was a pretty good run, where I did run a little faster than I have been, but nothing too stoopid and we are getting psyched about actually seeing real progress on the remodel. Now to see if the little changes I have made to the RA Max make a difference in how they feel for me.

If this doesn’t work as good as I want, I have a feeling that another pair of New Balance Beacons in a Size 8.0 will be found under the tree on August 6th. Right now I run decently in the RA Max, but when I wore my old Beacons while mowing the lawn, I didn’t have as many issues with my right foot. Food for thought.