Strassburg...

No, not Strausburg as in France, Strassburg as in, the sock. Read on...

I fanned the run this morning. Partially because it's raining, partially because of the extra glass of wine I had last night, partially because I went to bed late last night, and mostly because my friggin foot hurts! Yes, plantar is getting worse. So I made a trip to Fleet Feet yesterday and procured a Strassburg Sock . If you're looking for something sexy, then you're goin' the wrong direction with the "sock." This bad boy was designed to speed the healing of Plantar Fasciitis. Essentially, Plantar Fasciitis is heel pain (just in front of the heel) caused by micro tears in the tendon connecting the heel to the ball of the foot. At night our feet point and the heel tries to heal. However, the healing occurs with the foot in an pointed position and the plantar fascia contracted. So, when you get up in the morning, you stretch the plantar fascia and undo the healing process (think stitches ripping out). The sock keeps the foot at a 90 degree angle to the leg so that the plantar does not contract, heals in a normal position, and stretches lightly overnight. 

Anyhow, I now own one and tried it last night. My foot felt better (thought not all better) this morning. Stay tuned for more updates.

Back to the wheel...

5 in the LP

The thermometer read a brisk 30 degrees this AM. BRRRRRRRRRRRRR! It's a good thing I forgot my long sleeve shirt. That said, the bank robber hat I purchased a couple of weeks ago really kept the dome warm. Popular believe is that the "typical" head holds 13 - 16 percent of the body's blood and accounts for up to 30 percent of the bodies heat loss (cite). Of course, with a dome the disproportionate size of mine, I could safely up that to 40 percent. :-) However, with the hat on, I actually felt very comfortable. It seemed more like a balmy 40 degrees.

Anyhow, I got in five and ran into long-time friend Grietje Reuter. She's not training for any runs right now, but she wants to swim across Lake Tahoe this summer. I told her she was crazy to which she replied, "I'm a large Danish girl...cold water doesn't affect me." Power to the Danes, once again proving that I am a big sissy. :-)

Back to the wheel...

Boston Logistics

Joe was kind enough to take care of booking the flights and hotel for the Boston trip. Here's the itinerary. We'll be on US Airways (hopefully landing at Logan and not in the water). The trip out will be a little brutal with two transfers and only 30 minutes to spare with each. Gulp! We'll be staying at the Logan Airport Hilton.

Sacramento (SMF) to Phoenix (PHX)                       04/18/09              12:32 pm - 2:20 pm

Phoenix (PHX) to Charlotte (CLT)                              04/18/09              2:50 pm - 9:39 pm

Charlotte (CLT) to Boston (BOS)                                04/18/09              10:09 pm - 12:11 am

 

Boston (BOS) to Phoenix (PHX)                                 04/21/09              6:25 am - 9:18 am

Phoenix (PHX) to Sacramento (SMF)                       04/21/09              9:51 am - 11:52 am

Los Altos Hills Fun

I wish all of my runs were as much fun as this morning's jaunt through Los Altos hills. Abby and I are in the Bay Area for a Red Egg and Ginger party so I got up to sneak in a few miles before we headed out for the morning. I'll run through the pics to give you an idea of the fun.

Moffett Field: Here's a pic of Moffett Field. I snapped this shot from the deck of a McMansion under construction. No one was there, so I thought I'd take advantage to get a good shot...okay, and peak through the windows. The construction crew will show up this morning to drool and nose prints on the sliding glass doors. Sorry about that. Of note in the McMansion: the 10 foot wide fireplace and the laundry room with a view...as all laundry rooms should. :-)

Coyote: I've seen this guy a couple of times but I haven't had the BlackBerry with me to snap his pic. Like all coyotes, he's a little camera shy, so please forgive the bad pic.

Here's a shot of yours truly with San Jose in the background. I stood on a guarrail to get this pic and caught the attention of a dog with "super bark" capabilities. His bellow caused me to lose my balance and fall off. Smooth move. Speaking of dogs, shortly after this pic, I came by another McMansion with a McLong McDriveway. The owner needed his newspaper at the foot of the driveway, so he opened the door and his dog ran dow and picked it up. Now THAT is a cool dog!

Sunrise Over San Jose: well, the caption about sums this pic up. :-)

Mountain On Fog: I liked this shot because you can see across San Jose to the coastal range rising above the fog. I thought is was cool and snapped the pic.

Land Park 6

I got in a quick 6 with the new shoes. I'm always amazed at how good new shoes feel. When I'm in the old shoes I think to myself, "They're not that bad, I could get another 300 miles out of them." Then, after only a few steps with the new shoes <pause for heavenly music> I realized that my old shoes cushioned me poor feet as well as wooden clogs. There's never a wrong time for new shoes...er, unless it's the day before a marathon.

I'm hoping the nagging twinge of plantar goes away and I'm pinning those hopes to the new shoes. <fingers crossed>

Busy day, back to the wheel...

Land Park 10 and some other stuff...

Here's the dirty, got in 10 with Joe and Carlos on Saturday. They're both in great shape while I resemble an amorphous blob. I titled this the Land Park 10, but in reality we went all over the place: Land Park, Pocket, along the river, Miller Park, to the edge of Old Sac, through downtown, and back to the park. Oh, I forgot over the river and through the woods...oops, wrong blog. 

Boston Update: Joe booked our flights last night, I'll post the info as soon as I have it. 

Shoe Update: with the specter of plantar and Boston less than three months out, I decided it was time for a new pair of shoes. I love the Brooks Defyance! In them, I was able to train for a marathon and, for the first time, not lose a single toenail. (pause for a collective EWWWW! from non-runners and a collective REALLLY?!?!?! from the runners) :-) So I ran over to Fleet Feet on Saturday and picked up the latest edition, the Brooks Defyance 2. So far, the only difference I notice is that Brooks decided to drop bile green as the color choice. I'll let you know more after my first couple o runs.

Back to the wheel...