Cross Country and Care Free Running

It had been years since I ran out not really sure where I was going. When I arrived to boarding school as a freshman I did not know what this “cross country” was, sad but true story. So I signed up because in elementary school I did not have the opportunity to sign up for sports and since this cross country thing was available I said what the heck. After day one I wanted out, but Fr. Steven encouraged me to stay, I did, I never became a particularly good runner but I did enjoy it. We would go on “exploratory runs,” i.e. running randomly trying to get lost on purpose and hopefully finding our way back by sunset. I remember once we were dropped off in a development community, one of those track homes type places. It was the most frustrating thing to run down a street only to find that it led to nowhere or that it looks the exact same as the street you had just left. Regardless we still had fun. The feeling of just going carefree was great and Saturday, I ran a little over 7 miles that way. It was just what I needed. It was calm and slow but keenly focused. My energy was spent monitoring my body and how it was reacting to running in downtown LA. I ran in Asics Bandito shoes (similar to the Asics Racer), they were a steal from running warehouse and with the RunBlogger 10% off coupon. The shoes were comfortable; I changed out the laces for some bungees so the pressure on the foot was even throughout the whole run. The shoe is also neutral and promotes landing on the mid foot, which just happened to be what I was trying to do. The image I was using to accomplish this came courtesy of CHI Running. I imagined I was peeling my heel off the floor and letting my feet relax so I did not get the strain in the calves. I also tried Honey Stinger Gel. Le Boss suggested it and the product worked out far better than expected. It is made with all natural ingredients, sweeter than GU which I have been using; it was like a less dense honey - quite delicious. It helped me get through the miles without any significant issues, other than the whole tired thing. Also as a suggestion from el jefe I ran with a hat. Yes the sun is bad for you in excess and no I do not want skin cancer so I got a running cap. Those runner people sure have the cap thing down, it was breathable and very comfortable, I did not think about it until I took it off. I will be reviewing it and the Amphipod Hydration pack in upcoming posts.