After a week vacation at the beach, I have now started week one of my Chicago training. This past Sunday I ran 9 miles on my hill route.  I wore the knee strap but it was too loose. I don’t know if it made a difference,  but my knee was mildly achy around mile 7.5. I did not walk much and my knee was fine when I stopped.

Sunday’s run at the beach was my longest run since February.  Because of the ankle issues I’ve had in the Newtons,  I decided to try Nike with a knee strap on. The first thing I noticed about the Nikes was that I’m not used to their feel anymore. I did not like it. Early in the run,  I felt the knee strap was rubbing against my knee,  so I took

My 3 mile test run in the Nikes went well. I had no ankle pain during or after the run this past Wednesday.  Soon I will try a longer run in the Nikes and some shorter runs on the Newton/Altra’s.  Training for the marathon will begin soon.

Just as I was thinking Altra’s and Newtons are the best shoes ever and my knee issues seem to be diminishing,  a new problem surfaces. The weekend after my trail 5K,  I ran 7 miles in the Newtons.  It was really even a jump in miles, but my left arch bothered me on this run.  I missed next two weeks running for other reasons,  and I resumed on May 25th

A week after the Thomas Larner 10K,  I ran the Crozet Running 5K Trail Run and did I ever underestimate this one!  Runners were warned that the first mile is all uphill and steep, but I blew that off as a warning to beginning runners, not ones that run 10 miles with ease. But they were not kidding and before long, I was tired and walking!  Yep,  this hurt my