May 28th, 2005 (4-weeks post marathon)

This past week I've totaled 36 miles at 10-min. miles and I'm feeling great.

Yesterday, I was surprised to learn I had logged 550 miles on my ASICS GT 2100s I purchased on 1/20/05. Geez... my 2090s used to break down between 250 and 300 mile.

Today I registered for the Adirondack Distance Race (10 miles) scheduled for 7/3/05. It's a course between Lake George Village and Bolton Landing. I'm also registered to run the 8.4 mile, Race the Train (8/6/05). This event begins with a train ride taking spectators and runners to the start line, and then taking spectators back to the finish line- stopping along the route to root for runners!

June 6th, 2005 (5-weeks post marathon)

I'm feeling great. I'm zooming at constant 10 min. miles (according to Garmin), and I'm including some negative splits in the latter half of long runs. The strategy to slow my pace to 10 minute miles in the first half has helped me to have legs in the second half of long runs!

My greatest challenge from this point forward will be traveling and vacationing on weekends without compromising my rigorous training schedule.

July 1st, 2005 (9-weeks post marathon)

With a new pair of ASICS GT 2100s, and a new training strategy, I've quickly moved up the long-distance mileage ladder. Last weekend I ran 20 miles in very hot/muggy weather in DC and averaged 10.3 minute miles... with no same/next-day strains. I've dumped the short 4-6 mile runs for 8-12 mile runs 3-times a week, and I take a day of rest before and after my long weekly runs. I look forward to keeping my long runs at 20+ miles.

July 11th, 2005 (Happy 57th Anniversary Mom and Dad!)

"100% satisfaction guaranteed! We're not happy until you're happy"... and on and on... and, so they sell...

Last weekend I pushed the "g"-return envelope. You see... I return stuff. I research gear... use it... and if I'm not 100% satisfied... I return it for an exchange or a refund. Why?? Because I spend a ton of money on high-tech stuff and I'm willing to challenge a company's glorious claims about their products. (Oh... buy the way. Companies that treat me well... get my business. Great tech/customer support is more important then the lowest price. Believe me...)

After running in my ASICS GT 2100s for 5 weeks, I decided they were uncomfortable and a half a size too small. Moving up through the ASICS 2080s and then 2090s... I've always worn an 11. Even my first pair of 2100s were a size 11! But now... I decided this pair of 11s were too small.

Last Friday I was on my way to Dicks Sporting Goods to purchase a new, larger pair of 2100s when I thought, "Hey... perhaps I could exchange my 5 week old running tigers for new, larger ones?"

The more I thought about it, the more I like the idea. So, I gathered up my courage and brought my ASICS down to Dicks to see what I could bargain for. After all, I've been buying my sneakers there for years - and now... 3 pairs a year!

After explaining my size dilemma to a manager... she hemmed and hawed and then agreed to let me exchange them. I was thrilled. New shoes and I saved $90! I was one happy sole!

When Sunday rolled around, I was scheduled to get up at 5:00 AM and run 21 miles before we were all due on the soccer field for an 11:00 AM game. Barely awake, I rummaged through my gear. Water bottles: check. GU: Check. Garmin GPS watch.... Garmin GPS Watch... it was nowhere to be found... until I realized... I had returned my old sneakers to DICKS on Friday with my GPS stuffed in the right sneaker! AWK! How could I be so...

I now had a decision to make. I could hate myself, not run and retreat to bed until Dick's opened when I would call for a search and rescue mission... or... hate myself, run and stay on my long-run schedule. I chose the latter. I figured I could always purchase a new Garmin, but I couldn't make up my long run later in the day.

I did have a great run. Just when I returned home for a 15-minute cool-down walk, Kate called me on my cell phone. With tremendous humiliation I shared with her my Garmin plight. "But, you know," I offered, "after running 21 miles... my bonehead problem doesn't seem to have the same nauseating effect it did 3-hours and 26-minutes earlier in the morning. I now only feel moderately-bone-head-like."

At 9:10 AM I phoned Dick's to speak with a manager. I couldn't believe on a Sunday they opened at 9! (Was this a good omen? Was LaBella-Karma gettin' cranked up to do it's magic?) After describing my dilemma to Deb, she painstakingly warned me that all returned merchandise is immediately tagged for return, shrink wrapped, and then sent out to any one of a zillion warehouses for processing. Essentially, she conveyed to me the notion, "Pal... you're screwed."

We ended our phone conversation with Deb saying, "I'll check to see if your sneakers are here (a coded message for, "I'm goin' out for a coffee"). My closing comment to her was, "I'll be on the soccer field all day... please give me a call on my cell phone (a coded message for, "I know I'm screwed but thanks anyway for wasting your time looking for sneakers that have already been shredded for an asphalt road").

So what do you think? Did I save $90 in sneakers and spend $150 for a new Garmin GPS watch? The short answer... once again, thank you LaBella-Karma!