An Evening of Firsts

July 08, 2013

I received an email (and also saw on Facebook) that Runners Forum, one of the local running stores, was holding a group fun run/walk and representatives from Saucony were going to be there so that people could try on their shoes during the run.  Sounded like a great opportunity to try out a different pair of shoes.  I’ve been an Asics Girl from DAY ONE but they’ve changed the style I run in.  I have one pair of the new GT 3000s and the left foot seems off just a bit.  I’m going to try these new Asics one more time before I make any drastic moves.  However, this might provide another option for me.

I was a little nervous about going and doing this.  They said that all abilities were welcome but I’m slow and didn’t want to be embarrassed.  Plus I was worried that I might have to stop and use the bathroom.  I wasn’t sure what route they would be running and what if I was about to have an emergency?  But I put on my “big girl running shorts” and drove to the store.  There were a lot of people already there.  They put me in a pair of Saucony Guides.  Unfortunately 7 was the smallest size they had and I normally wear a 6 1/2.  I was hoping this wouldn’t cause a problem.

After a few instructions about the path we would be running and a reminder that this was to be a fun run, we all took off.  It was true - all abilities were there.  The speedier folks were gone in a flash, I was about mid-pack and there were some walkers behind us.  There was a guy there with his two daughters; one was 9 and I think the other one might have been about 7.  Basically we ran through the strip mall parking lot, through a neighborhood over to the YMCA to do the 1 1/2 mile lap there and then back.  The “organizers” weren’t 100% sure if this would actually be a 5K and I wasn’t sure either at first.  But I was wearing my Garmin so I would find out.  When we got to the turn to go back in the neighborhood, some RF employees were standing there and said that we needed to do a short lap in front of the Y and then back on the path to the neighborhood.  I didn’t have a good gauge of who should have been in front of me because there were also just random people out on the path.  AND I was hoping that no one was following me because I just wasn’t sure how far to go.  Well, most of the people behind me either opted out of doing the lap or didn’t go far enough because as I was about to get back in the neighborhood, I was practically last.  I had to start passing the walkers ahead of me.

Turns out that what I did was correct because by the time I got back to the store my Garmin measured 3.11 miles.  I think if they’d had us go further south on the path at the Y and not had people do an add-on loop it would have made more sense. I might go run it again some evening and see how it measures.

Afterward, there was water, Gatorade type drinks and beer.  Plus, Saucony provided Jimmy John sandwiches.  I wasn’t hungry but did grab a couple of waters.  Obviously plenty of people took advantage of the food.  It basically got devoured in no time.

They were giving a 10% discount on Saucony shoes if you bought them that night but I wasn’t ready to make the commitment just yet.  Although they felt pretty good and similar to my Asics, I did have some rubbing on my left Achilles area probably because they were too big.

So you might be asking, what were these FIRSTS that I had, well….

1. I’ve never not run in Asics. First time in a new brand.
2. I ran without my music.  I never done that (on purpose) but I wasn’t sure what etiquette was so I left my shuffle in my car.
3. I’ve never done a training run and not had a bathroom nearby for the first 3 miles.  Not sure what it is about my digestive system but if there’s gonna be an issue, that’s when it will happen.  I felt like it was “touch & go” a couple of time and took some walking breaks.  Thus it was not a fast 5K but I’ll call it a success.

I will definitely do this type of thing again if it is offered.