Sunday, August 3, 2008

The Dog Days

I ran a very hilly 10k training run downtown yesterday morning. As I was driving down at 6am the temperature was already 85F and humid. I guess you know it's Texas summertime when running is a struggle and you wonder where all your fitness has gone. Well the run was hard but manageable - it was good to think of all the junk food I'd eaten this week being purged. I ran relatively slowly (55 minutes), but what with the heat and stopping for traffic at intersections, I wasn't too bothered.

Then this morning Nancy ran Jack's Generic Triathlon at the Texas Ski Ranch, so we had another early start. Gavin and I enjoyed ourselves - we had a picnic and then played in the water where the boy gave his dad a good soaking. Of course, we'd brought a change of clothes for him, but not for me. Oh well, we had a blast anyway. Nancy didn't have such a great time - she struggled on the bike (usually her best event) and wasn't very happy with her time, but hey, it's another finish.

Then this afternoon I started my search for new road shoes. I tried on some New Balance (didn't like them at all), Brooks Adrenaline (very comfortable) and Asics GT-2130 (my favorite - extremely comfortable and they come in a variety of widths). I ended up finding a great deal online for last year's Asics model - the GT-2120. Every review I've read of them was positive, so $60 later they are heading my way. Hope they cure my newly discovered blister problems.

And finally, I am looking forward to trying this recipe for Baked falafel patties with yogurt-tahini sauce from Kalyn's Kitchen. I keep an eye on her blog because I have got a number of excellent dishes from it, including this superb tzatziki recipe.

3 comments:

Kalyn Denny said...

Thanks for the nice mention. Glad to know you're enjoying the recipes.

johntsharp said...

Hey Mark,

I was wondering what was going on at TSR. Tell the Miss'es I says congrats!! I was on my way to Ft. Worth Sunday it was only 107 when I got there. So, you want to do Cactus Rose with me?

Mark said...

Kalyn - you're welcome, and thank you for the yummy recipes.

John - I'm not running Cactus Rose as I have coaching committments that Saturday morning, but I may drive down afterwards and adopt an aid station. If you need a pacer for all or part of the last 50 miles, I'm your man. Let me know.