Editors note: This is about MY search for shoes, not shoes in general.  I'll post up some info about finding the right shoes for you a bit later...  Promise!

It used to be that shoes were an easy thing to decide on.  I walk into a store, find smthng that's not too ugly, try on a few sizes till I get one that fits, then pay and get out.  Not any more. :(

My current running shoe is a Saucony C2 Grid Roadster.  A black and silver, light, highly arched, neutral running shoe.  My current set have 65 running miles on them.  You can probably figure an extra 5 to 10 "unclocked" miles due to walking around before a race, warm ups, etc.  Still got plenty of life in them.  But, it's now pretty much "winter" here.  That changes things.

My C2s are great for pavement running, but I doubt they'll handle wet trails, mud and rock for any distance without disintegrating.  So, I need a set of trail runners.  Plus, there are going to plenty of times when I'm not going to want to go outside at all.  That means some quality time on my wife's treadmill (make no mistake here... it's in our basement, but it's her treadmill). The treadmill will only be touched by "virgin" shoes that have never seen the sun, rain, snow, mud, dirt, water, or anything else not already found on our basement tile.  So, I need another set of running shoes.

I'd be lying if I said I chose the C2's as my first real running shoe.  I didn't.  I got very lucky.  It was after I got home from the local shoe warehouse company that I did some research to find out that it's probably a pretty good shoe for me.  A visit to a real running store a few weeks later confirmed that the only shoe that worked as well (not better) was another Saucony that was "this years new model" and is essentially a flashy version of the C2 Roadster.  That trip also confirmed that I'm definitely a Saucony foot person.  Brooks and Asics feel absolutely horrible to me. New Balance are tolerable, but I wouldn't want to run any distance in them.  Nikes just feel all sorts of wrong.

Side note: The same phenomena occurs with motorcycle helmets... some people are Shoei heads, other are Arai heads, and the twain shall never meet in one helmet.

So, I wander down to my local DSW again looking to luck out in another shoe.  Directly in front of the main entrance is a "super cheap running shoe" rack.  Excellent!  I dive in and find a set of Saucony Grid Omni 5 TRs that should hold up to some nasty weather.  Price?  $40.  Score!  I try them on...  Not bad, but not great.  Maybe they'll break in.  I snag them after checking out a few other dead ends on the non-sale stuff.

I get them home and find that they are "stability", not "neutral" or "neutral plus".  Bummer. :(  They'll have to go back. 

Saucony tells you on the web site what kind of shoe they are, why not put it on the box?  (I'm not just ragging Saucony about this, most manufacturers are guilty of it.)

Looks like I might just hold out and bite the bullet for the Xodus for the trails.  Not sure about the treadmill.  I probably should get the Triumph 6, but that's a chunk of change for an indoor shoe.  But, they both have Saucony's arch-lock, which I probably need.  I probably need to scoot down to Road Runner soon and try them on.

This morning I ran a 5k race...  the Virginia Run Turkey Trot 5k.  It was ROUGH!

First, there were over 3000 runners.  That's a LOT of people to get through.  The start was horrible... I kept getting stuck behind families running side-by-side.  I applaud the family spirit and all that, but people have to be able to get around you, especially at the starts.  I ended up getting off the road and running on the sidewalk until some space had opened up. 

It was cold...  A hair below freezing when we got there, frost on everything.  Cold, dry air putting a hurting on my throat.

My wife is inconsistent.  She's clearly in better shape than me, but she changes her pace too much and makes it difficult to stay with her.  It threw me off a bit.  My secret goal was to be able to keep up with her.  Success - we finished side by side! :)

Hills!  There were two hills that I was not expecting.  They weren't incredibly steep, but they were LONG!  They both were after the halfway point and really beat me down.  They made the finish seem a LOT further away.

We'll probably find another race to do next Thanksgiving.  It was just TOO crowded.  Neither of us liked it.

But, I did what I think was an excellent job.  I managed an unofficial time of 28:49, which works out to an average pace of 9:07 min/mile.  That's a full minute/mile faster than my last race, which was an 8k on flat ground.  Of course, the wife and I were both absolutely done by the end of it. 

The timing above was from my Forerunner.  I'll post the official times when I get them.

Still, it was a good race for us and we're glad we not only completed it, but completed it in a much better time than expected.  We were both shooting for a 10 min/mile pace. ;)

Twitter pals

On a somewhat related note, I've been following a lot of runners on Twitter recently.  I was amazed at how many ran today and how well they all did.  Congrats to all! :)

Update: Official times are in...  28:41 with a pace of 9:14 min/mile.  142nd out of 238 in my age/division.  I'm happy with that. ;)

I'm already signed up for my next run...  The Virginia Run Turkey Trot 5k.  This is a Thanksgiving morning 5K run in Centreville, VA.  The wife and I signed up for this one for a number of reasons.

• 5k - The 8K I did last time was rough.  We think a 5k will be a better stepping stone before working up to more serious distances.
• Location - Centreville isn't that far from us (Springfield).
• ChronoTrack - The electronic timing is pretty cool.  We like not having to deal with doing our own timing and not having to worry about it.
• Thanksgiving - Neither of us are working. ;)

My first race was an 8k.  I did a respectable job, but 8k is currently my limit.  I'm even having a hard time hitting three miles on training runs right now.  The 5k will give me another PR to shoot for and will give me a decent starting point for training for longer distances.

We tried to recruit a bunch of friends who run for the last race, but they ALL bailed.  So, we're not 'advertising' this one.  It'll just be me and the wife.  I'm reasonably sure I can keep up with her for a 5k. She has a slower pace than I do, but can run much farther.  5k won't quite demolish me, so I think I can just push hard enough to keep with her at the end.  We'll see. 

I can get one more training run in on Tuesday if the weather holds out.  We're expecting rain tonight and Tuesday morning.  If it dries out before I get home from work on Tuesday, I can squeak one three mile run in before the race.

I'll definitely let you all know how it goes after the race, but I might post up how my Tuesday run goes if I can find the time before the race.

I completed my first race yesterday... an 8 kilometer run called Run! Geek! Run!

The Good

I finished!  :) 

It gets better though... I actually ran the entire race.  8k is about 5 miles.  I started at my usual workout pace but strangely got faster throughout the entire race.  I expected to be able to run half of it, then alternate running and walking for the remainder.  Once I was out there, I just kept "not stopping".  The first mile was pretty hard, as it was cold and there wasn't much opportunity to warm up and get ready.  The second mile was when things kind of started to fall into place.  Everything after that just got harder.  I was really surprised that every time I looked at my Forerunner, it reported that I was increasing my pace.  I made a couple of conscious efforts to back off, but after the halfway point I just quick looking and ran.

Here are the "official" stats for my run...

• Out of 438 runners I placed 338th.
• My net time was 50:23.
• My pace was 10:09 minutes/mile average.
• Out of 47 first-time runners, I was 30th.
• Out of 30 male runners in my age group (35-39), I was 27th...  I saw a lot of the men in my bracket and they were mostly fitness and running freaks...  the time disparity in that group was ridiculous, so I don't feel at all bad about that. ;)

My lovely wife started with me, but left me in the dust in no time flat.  She placed 13th out of 31st in her age bracket...  I categorize her as one of those fitness freaks, so I'm not at all surprised by her ranking. ;)  Out of 438 runners total, she placed 286th with a pace of 9:36. 

My wife was nice enough to come back a few hundred yards for me and run the last bit again as an extra motivation. :)

Other interesting observations... 

There was ample water, coffee, bagels, bananas, etc at the starting area.  I don't know if this is common practice, but I hope so for future races.

The Bad

It was cold. Good weather for running, but not so good for standing around before and after the race.

My knees hurt after and during the run.  Not a joint pain, more of a muscle or tendon pain. Both knees, on the outside, just under the kneecap.  There's obviously a muscle that attaches to smthng there and it's not real happy about everything.  It's not terrible, it just aches a lot.  Unfortunately, my knee pain collaborated with most of the other bits of my body while I was sleeping and staged a coup.  Pretty much everything aches now.  Again, not major and luckily no joint or bone pain.  Just sore muscles, tendons and ligaments and such.

I had a "marker" that I used for the first four miles.  There was a girl running ahead of me with a white long sleeved shirt and black pants that I used to pace myself.  She was running a good steady pace that I wanted to maintain, so I followed her as best as I could.  I slacked off a bit at the 2 mile mark, but was back with her at about 3.5 miles.  She slowed down a bit, so I passed her and was quite proud of myself that I'd managed to outlast her.  Unfortunately, she was sandbagging.  At 4 miles, she kicked in the afterburners and there was no way I could keep up.  I was a little "crushed" by that, but struggled on regardless.  It didn't really make a difference to my running, it was just one more thing to fight through.  I was rapidly running out of steam and if it had happened earlier, I probably would have emotionally given up a bit and wouldn't have been able to maintain my pace.  I need to keep it in mind for the next race and make sure I'm using the Forerunner as a marker, not another unknown runner.

All of my wife's friends who had considered running backed out.  That means no one to take pictures. My very first race and I have no picture of me falling across the finish line. :(

Stats

These are from the Forerunner and may be a few seconds off of the "official" timing...

Next...

Take a few days off for recovery.  I'll probably start running again next weekend.  I have to go out of town Thursday and Friday, so I'll probably hit the trail on Saturday.

That brings me to my workout... I've been doing 20 minutes running on my workouts.  I obviously need to up that a bit since I just proved to myself that I can run more than twice as long.  I'll probably go to 30 next week, then take it from there and see how it goes.

Overall, I'm pretty stoked up and impressed with myself about the race. I'll probably start planning the next one soon... like tomorrow. :)

Yesterday I went out for my last run before the Run! Geek! Run! race.  I didn't do terribly, but I'm glad I didn't skip it.  I skipped the run prior to that because I tweaked my ankle a bit and didn't want to risk doing anything more to it.  Had I skipped yesterday as well, I would probably be in really bad shape for the race this Sunday.

I picked a different area that I've been meaning to check out for running.  I started at Eakin Park and did 2.5 miles of the Cross County Trail.  Not a bad trail, but it's a really strange mix of conditions.  Some parts are aged and cracked asphault, others are new concrete, others are dirt, others are gravel.  There are a couple of parts that are badly sized "rocks" acting like gravel.  They're big enough that I can't see anyone wanting to walk, run or ride a bike on them.  I don't know what the park authority was thinking there.

I think I'm going to start up a site for Northern Virginia and post up running trails.  I haven't found anything like that yet and the trail network here is very disorganized... stuff goes all over the place, but you never know what conditions you'll be dealing with until you're already committed.  We'll see.

My 8k run for Run! Geek! Run! is in six days...  I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be up to running the entire race, but I should be able to run at least half, then alternate running and fast walks for the remainder.

I went out for a run yesterday.  It wasn't easy, but it wasn't quite as bad as the torture I endured on Friday.  My pace was pretty poor, but I still managed my 20 minutes running and a few intervals on the way back.  My ankle was starting to complain, so I only did three intervals instead of my usual five.  I managed a couple of pretty serious pulls to my right ankle over the past year and I don't think it's quite "right" yet, so I'm being extra careful until I strengthen it up some more.

I did manage to get 4.2 miles for a total, so it's was still a pretty decent workout.

Since the race is Sunday, I should be able to get a run in on Tuesday and then on Thursday.  They're probably be pretty easy ones, as I need to make sure I'm okay for Sunday.  I'll only have Friday and Saturday for recovery before the race though, so I may scrap the Thursday run.  I'll make a judgement call on Thursday and decide then.

Yesterday was the worst run I've done since I started... it was absolutely horrible.  I didn't want to go in the first place, but I didn't have an excuse not to, so I did it.  I felt horrible when I started and it just got worse from there.

I felt like I was pushing a freight train uphill and every few minutes, I'd run into another box car and have to push it as well.  My legs felt like lead.  My breathing was shallow and I couldn't get a good rhythm.  My shins ached, my allergies had me all stuffed up, my throat was all clogged up, I was cold and clammy and it all pretty much sucked.

But, I did it.  5 minute warm up, 20 minutes running, 25 minutes of intervals, 5 minute cool down...  every second of it was pure torture.

The irony of it all...  It was the best pace I've run so far.

:(

I'd hinted in a previous comment that I would talk a bit about the electronic wizardry I'm using to help me keep running.  Purists won't care about this, as they pretty much "just run".  If you fall in that category and like it that way, don't waste your time on the rest of this post. ;)

I am a big fan of "instant gratification".  I completely understand that if I run for three months, I should feel better, lose weight, run better, etc.  But, I don't want to wait for three months to see those kind of results.  I need to know that I'm doing smthng other than wasting my time... NOW! Hence, I resort to electronic gadgetry. :)

The primary (and currently only) source of electronic wizardry I employ for running is a Garmin Forerunner 305.  This is basically a GPS crammed into something that looks vaguely like a big watch.  It also has a wireless heart rate monitor (optional - not required for running).  In the simplest sense, it keeps track of where I am and how fast my heart is beating.  It can also keep track of my times and follow a simple workout schedule to prompt me to change pace.

However, what makes it really useful is the software to analyze that data.  This can pretty much tell me everything about my run and map out my performance and improvement over time.  That's kind of a big deal to me.  The instant gratification factor comes from being able to look at where I ran and see that I ran longer, further, faster, whatever.  It's also a real bonus to me to know that I ran 6 miles the first week, 8 miles the second week, 11 miles last week, etc.  If you want to get really technical, I also know that my shoes have 28 miles on them already (I expect to get at least 300 out of them).

The Forerunner 305 comes with some software called Garmin Training Center. This is one of the products I use to keep track of everything.  It's also about the only practical way to set up a workout and send it to the 305.  Here's the main portion of what it looks like after plugging in the 305 when I get home from a run (click for biggie):

The four panes are pretty easy to deal with... the top left is a calendar showing either when you ran or when you are scheduled to do so (depending on which screen you're looking at).  The pane below that is a list of activities you've uploaded.  The top right is a map of any given activity and the bottom right is the graph of the activity itself.  There's plenty of other stuff buried on tabs too...  like stats and such.

For example, for the walk/run above, I went 5.17 miles in 1 hour 13 and a half minutes, at an average pace of 14:14 minutes per mile, average speed of 4.2 mph, max speed was 7.8 mph, burning about 642 calories, with an average heart rate of 138 bpm (max was 182), etc.  I also have specific readouts of how long (and for what distance) I was in each "zone" for heart rate and speed.

By looking at the graph, I can tell that my first leg of jogging was where I did the most work, as it was about 12 minutes and I maintained a heart rate of about 170 during that time (it was also where my max HR of 182 was, because I started running too fast).

The Forerunner and the software give me a LOT of information.  For some people, this won't be a big deal at all.  For me, it's a "must have"!  Without it, I wouldn't be running as often and I wouldn't be running as well as I am.

This is just sort of an introduction to using a GPS for running... I've already got a lot more info on this, as I'm already branching out into other software (like SportTracks, which kinda rocks).  I'll post up more details about Training Center and SportTracks in future writings.

BTW...  it should be noted that there are lots of ways you can get our training data online.  The Garmins even come with a basic service to do so.  Just be careful what you upload...  Notice that the above map is in a park in Washington, DC.  It's not a map showing my wife's regular running route, nor is it showing where the front door of my house is.  You'd be surprised at how many "tracks" I've found online with this kind of stuff in it.  There are weirdos out there... don't make their jobs too easy.  Don't be paranoid... just be aware.

Surroundings

This was a local trail in Springfield, not too far from my house.  It's shaded, but mostly groomed dirt and gravel.  Two street crossings, but otherwise it's "woods".  Lots of squirrels, chipmunks and blue jays.  I also got VERY close to a deer while running.  I guess I was nicely relaxed and "non-predatory", as she just shifted off to the side of the trail when I came past.  She didn't shift enough to get off the trail, just enough to leave me room to pass on the other side of the trail.  I could have smacked her rump if I was so inclined.  I guess she's accustomed to fat guys huffing down the trail. ;)

Stats

• Location: Springfield, VA
• TOD: Early Evening
• Weather: 75º, damp (had just finished a little drizzle)
• Distance: 3.7 miles
• Time: 50 min
• Pace: 13:43 min/mil
• Average Heart Rate: 136

Not bad...  but nothing thrilling up there.  The cool part is this:

The Run

The above is a pace graph of the first 20 minutes of my run.  A pace graph is like a reversed speed graph... the lower the pace (the dark blue), the faster you are going.  My first five minute warm up walk is the big section before the 5:00 mark.  Then I started running (ok, jogging).  The spikes are mostly from the GPS not having good reception (it's a heavily wooded trail).  Notice that it's in the Jogging/Running pace...  until 20:30!  That's 15 minutes and 30 seconds of jogging...  with NO stopping! That's was my first real goal for running.  Done! :)

Other software shows that my actual jogging pace average was about 10:43 minutes per mile. At that point, I turned around and did a fast walk back.  That's why it was a 50 minute session... 20 minutes out, 30 minutes back.

Anyway, my first running goal is complete and I don't feel terrible.  One ankle is slightly complaining, but no more than parts of me usually do from any reasonably decent workout. 

Now all I have to do is figure out my next realistic goal... gotta check the workout schedule and figure that out.  Will post when I do.

Hey again!  I just wanted to post up regarding my most recent run.  I'd set one of goals to be able to run a decent pace for 15 minutes straight.  I'm also looking for a longer term "stretch goal" of being able the run the entire 8k "Run! Geek! Run!" event without having to walk.  A stretch goal is a goal that would be nice to achieve, but it's a bit of stretch... I won't be crushed or anything if it doesn't happen.  It would just be a nice bonus.

In an effort to work on both of these, the wife and I decided to check out the course for the 8k run.  I did my usual 10 minute warm-up walk, then started jogging.  Here are the basic stats:

• Distance: 5.2 miles
• Time: 1 hour, 13 minutes
• Pace: 14:10 minutes per mile

The cool part isn't the pace, time or distance...  What's cool is that I managed to get a full 12 minutes running before backing off!  What's even better is that I didn't feel horrible while doing it (or after).  I probably was capable of hammering out the additional three minutes, but it wouldn't have been wise, so we backed off.  My running pace for the 12 minutes was 9:54 min/mile, which is about as slow as I can go and still be running.  But, I'm somewhat amazed that I could maintain it for the full 12 minutes. :)

My best pace during that was 9:13, but I only managed that for a minute or so.

The other cool part is that we did the entire course.  About half of it was walking, but it proved the first part of my stretch goal... I can complete the race!  I still may not be able to run the entire thing, but I'll finish and I probably won't be near death at the finish line. ;)

We're going to be doing an easy run tonight, due to weather (it will probably rain).  I'm hopeful that I'll be able to get the full 15 minute run within a week or so.  Then I can see how much more distance I can safely get and continue to work on my stretch goal.

BTW...  my Saucony Grid C2 Roadsters kind of rock and are perfect for this kind of running. :)

Hey all, another update on my running (which I affectionately refer to as "Fat Man Falling Forward")...  I had a really good and surprising run this morning! 

So far, I've been trying for the following routine: 10 minutes walk (warm up), 15 minutes running, 5 minutes walk (cool down).  The walk is a fast walk and is about as fast as I can walk without actually running or looking like a complete freak.  Sorry, but speed walkers kinda wig me out and I refuse to be categorized as one.  ;)

My short term goal is to actually be able to run the entire 15 minutes of the running portion of my workout.  What normally ends up happening is that I start running, manage a decent pace for about 3 minutes, then have to walk again for two minutes before I pass out (I'm exaggerating, but you get the idea).  I can generally do that three times in my 15 minutes and I'll survive it.  Sometimes I'll even pound out one extra cycle if I'm feeling exceptionally motivated.

Well, this morning was completely different...  I managed 7 minutes running, two minutes walking, then another 7 running. :)  The pace was pretty much the same as usual too, so I wasn't just running slower (which isn't really possible anyway). 

I don't know if it was because it cool, humid, early in the morning, or I'm actually getting that much better, but it was quite a surprise to me to be able to manage that.  I might change my goal a bit and see if I can extend the first running cycle by a minute each run until I can work up to the full 15 minutes.

A long way

Another interesting thing about this morning is that I did nearly double my usual distance.  I normally do almost half my workout in one direction, then turn around and do the rest of it to return to my starting point. 

This time, I wanted to finish off my running portion without interruption, so I just kept going.  So, I did 25 minutes in one direction, then turned around for the last 5 minute cool down fast walk.

That put me a long way from the start at the end of my workout.  So, I just took it easy and walked back... a little slower than my usual "workout walking pace", but faster than a plain ole walk.  Took me about 30 minutes or so.

In total, I was nearly double my usual distance and well over double my time.  A good day!  They may be few and far between, but I'm pretty sure it's going to be a good thing to cherish them when they happen.

Hey all, time for more silliness in the life of smthng...

I still need to finish off the posts for my Colorado/Yellowstone trip, but I'm not really motivated to do so (yet).  I'll get to it eventually.

I've pretty much stripped down the FJR, but it's got to get into the shop for a tune-up before I sell it.  I just feel "wrong" about selling a bike I'm not convinced is in the best shape it can be in.  Might do that this weekend.

I got the KLR back from the shop with a new muffler, rear brake line and a few other bits that got killed when the exhaust fell off.  It's all good now.

Speaking of the KLR... I might be able to live with it for a bit and hold off on getting the BMW F800GS.  Not sure yet, which means I probably don't really need the BMW right now.

What else has been going on...  I took the wife camping and Jeeping last weekend.  It's her first time camping.  She had a decent time, but was a little put off by the lack of participation from our off-roading club (so was I).  Still, we had a good time and hit some good trails.  My friend Rob (the other Rob) and his wife joined us, and it was pretty much his first time out on rocks.  They had a great time and he's already trying to figure out what else he wants to do to the Jeep to be more capable.  JEEP = Just Empty Every Pocket. ;)

The camping trip got me thinking about how to make camping easier and better for both me and the wife.  I'm not sure how it happened or exactly why, but she gave the financial nod to get a SylvanSport Go pop-up camper/trailer thing.  :)  That should just about cover any camping issues in the future.  It's ridiculously expensive, but it really does do everything I need it to...  camping, hauling stuff from lumber stores, towing the bike, etc.  It's also light enough that the Jeep can handle it (Jeep Wranglers are great vehicles, but don't weigh much, so they have a really low towing capacity).

Ok...  so now onto my running efforts.  I've decided to start running.  It's mostly my wife's fault.  :P  She's a bit of a health nut, but I hate working out because I don't feel like I'm doing anything.  A friend talked her into running a 10k last month and she diligently stuck to her little regimen and completed the training and the race (in a decent time, no less).  Honestly, I didn't think she'd stick with it, but she proved me flat wrong.  Wouldn't be the first time!  ;)

She was kind of at a loss of what to do after the race, and didn't have a real "goal" for continuing to run.  She also didn't have any real idea of how well or how bad she was doing.  So, I suggested a GPS for running as a good tool to help her train, examine her progress and stay with it.  I ended up getting a Garmin Forerunner 305 for her.  Of course, I couldn't let the wife get a new toy unless I got one too. ;) 

The 305 is really a neat little piece of equipment.  I'm very much "gadget motivated" and this is a cool gadget.  While I'd probably keep running without it, I know that I wouldn't be making great progress and I wouldn't be looking forward to running.  With the 305, I really do look forward to getting home, running a session, plugging in the 305, then immediately seeing everything about how I did.  It's instant gratification!

A bit about me and why I'm running...  I'm in my late 30s, 5'10" and was about 200 lbs.  200 lbs is my "trigger" to get off my butt and do smthng about my computer geek lifestyle.  I'm in reasonably good shape, but I eat a lot and don't do much in the way of physical activity unless I'm on a Jeep trail (which is only about once a month).  I do have a few issues with running, but I think I can get past them.  First, I'm basically out of shape.  Nothing critical, just fat and sedentary.  Second, I have a weird gall bladder issue that none of the docs have been able to diagnose enough to do anything about it.  It's occasionally very painful (morphine levels of pain), but I can pretty much manage it by watching my food.  Third, I have incredibly high arches.  Bad enough that a walk around the block in bad shoes will leave me in agony for days.  That pretty much covers the reasons not to run.  I'm working on all of them. ;)

Basic stats on me before starting to run...  male, 199 lbs, 5'10", 27.7% body fat.

Reasons to run...  Well, I've only gone out about a half a dozen times.  But, I've also been laying off the junk food and eating relatively healthy stuff when there's an option.  The results?  194 lbs, 26.2% body fat. That's 5 lbs and 1.5% body fat gone... in about 10 days of running and eating better. :)

More motivation...  Other than fighting "getting old", losing weight, feeling better, etc...  I'm signed up for an 8k run November 2nd.  I don't know if I'll actually be in shape to run the entire 8k, but I have no doubt that I'll be able to finish and that I won't feel like death on a stick when I'm done.  If you want to join in, check out Run! Geek! Run!  It's for a good geeky cause.

Anyway, that's enough of my chatter for now...  I'll keep you posted on my running progress (and what I'm learning), the Sylvansport (when it's built) and the bikes.