Rich and Strange Aeons

So I went to Payless and bought sneakers. Spalding Marathon Series for $40 (and I could get something else for half off.) A store brand was claimed to be almost equivalent for $25 but didn't feel as nice. Sorry Zach, no Nikes there, and I didn't want to search or wait.

sproing sproing sproing

I never tried running in my sandals, but I did hop in them in the store, and if the boots have no give the sandals probably have too much -- or more relevantly, no give-*back*. Unlike the sneakers.

sproing sproing sproing

So I went running. First I walked around the block to time it better than estimation, and to break the shoes in a bit, though not the few miles Fanw suggested. 5:45 one time around, so 17:15 if I walked three times around. Then I ran. Walked for a couple of short stretches, particularly across alleys, but less than last time, and sprinted for the final short-block stretch. Final time 9:08, 50 seconds better than last time, and not feeling as winded. No shoulder pains either (though I thought they were creeping on me as I did the initial walk!) And no blister! After lying on the grass a short bit, I ran past home -- another two minute walk -- before deciding to not overpush myself. I was thinking of that "aerobic wall at 10 minutes" mentioned on Kyle's LJ, though, and I was close to that.

Doing some math, and assuming that I walk a straight 16 minute mile, that'd mean I ran 1.078 miles, or an 8:28 mile. I probably shouldn't count on too much precision there, though. Actually I might be able to test that better, by not skipping the streets on my walk.

sproinnnng

One nice thing about Chicago is that I can find flat blocks easily. Almost all of them, really; mine is an exception because of the river, so I go over a bit. Back home I think I'd need to go to the gym to find that much flatness near me.