On the edge

I'm grateful it's a new week. And a rest week at that. Last week was a high volume week and I was really tired by Sunday. Muscles start to ache and twitch a little funny and I know I'm on the edge of either overtraining or an injury. When I plan it right, the rest week falls right into place perfectly.

I spent last Saturday downtown at VQ. There was an intensity ride in the morning followed by the VQ Garage Sale. I picked up some nice swag. After the ride I spoke with Jason Glowney, one of the VQ coaches. He helped me plan out my Ironman training for the year. We talked about my limitations and goals and race paces and anything else I had a question about. Then he emailed me a spreadsheet with a suggested training week. Looking at it I know I'm going to relish this rest week before trying his suggestions.

After the VQ Garage Sale I headed down the street to Running Away Multisport. They have great people there who really helped me out with a new pair of shoes. I started by trying on the new Zoot running shoes. They were great. The features they come with would make any triathlete drool. The only reason I didn;t buy them was the lack of padding. They're really more designed as a race shoe. My preference is to race and train in the same shoe. That way there are fewer blister surprises after hours of use. I ended up buying a pair of Newtons. I've been eyeing these shoes online and in magazine adds for some time now. It's only recently that a select few stores in the Chicagoland area started to carry them. When i saw them on the shelf I knew I couldn;t be this close to a pair and not try them on. They let me run around the block in them and the feeling is truely awesome. Talk about a spring in your step. I bit the bullet and purchased them even though they have a pretty steep price tag. They ended up costing more than the pair of clincher tires I bought for my training rims. I got a few pressure blisters on my forefoot during the first 7 mile run I took them on but they felt great on my legs. I just hope them hold up better than some of the reviews I've read. Although many people see the lugs begin the wear and automatically assume they are worn out when they are really just getting broken in. I know these shoes won't get me a 2nd place finish at Kona like Craig Alexander, just a finish at IMWI is all I ask.