New Sneakers for My First Ultra

This morning I went to Eastern Mountain Sports in Carle Place to get a pair of trail running shoes and some special socks for this Saturday's race. EMS moved across the street last November (I had no idea; I asked), and the new store is located across the street at 204 Glen Cove Road.

I was promptly directed to a shoe guru named Jason who was very helpful (and cute!). He gave me a pair of Brooks and two pairs of La Sportiva trail running shoes to try on. The La Sportiva shoes felt the best, and we decided the all-purpose pair were better suited for my needs. Slight problem. They are grey and orange. Grey is practically my favorite color, but I hate the color orange. I hate it almost as much as I hate clowns. I think I hate the color orange because I hate clowns. I almost asked if he had them in any other colors, but I figured he would've told me if he did, and I was slightly embarrassed to admit that I have a clown-phobia-caused disgust of a color. Otherwise, the shoes are sick!

Jason helped me pick out double-layer synthetic WrightSocks. The Dri-WRIGHT II fabric wicks moisture and the double-layer offers padding for the 31 miles I will be covering next week. As much as I love my Old Navy cotton fitness socks, they have a time and a place, and an ultra is not one of them.

I hurried home to throw on some shorts and a tank. I couldn't wait to try out my new socks and shoes on the trail in the woods across the street from my house. The weather was 68 degrees and sunny, perfect running weather in my book, and I ended up getting a nice tan on my face and arms today.

Now I'm not scared of many things; I'm scared of mediocrity and clowns. I don't care for rats, and they make me kind of nauseous, but it's only mediocrity and clowns that terrify me. But I kept on getting nervous while running on the small trail in the woods... What if I accidentally stepped on a den hidden beneath a pile of leaves and I was attacked by disgruntled animals? What type of animals live in the woods of residential areas on Long Island? No one knew I was out there, and I don't think death by angry skunk is the way I want to go.

I ran around the trail for a while, before heading out into Oyster Bay and down to Roosevelt Beach. I ran along the beach, and then headed back up Mill River Road. Yesterday my IT band freaked out after a mile and a half. Today I ran over 3 miles without a problem, and then only after pounding pavement. After that, I stayed on sand or the embankments on the sides of the road, and my leg felt much better. Hopefully a sensible approach to exercise this week will prepare me for Saturday's 50K.