Drummmmroll Please!

The nursery reveal is long overdue!  I have been putting it off because I have been too busy doing yard work, running, biking, and working!  I finally took some pictures yesterday, while I was editing those I also edited some pictures I took of my Godson, Nolan. 

So without further adieu here is the nursery!

I am very pleased with how the nursery turned out!!  I think it will be the perfect environment for our son to grow up in! 

While I am here talking about figured I would also point out that my Godson turned 6 months old recently.  Here are some shots from his last trip to our house.  You can find additional pictures at my flickr page. 

Here's Nolan!

 I loved the pouting picture, I think it's hilarious because he is normally so happy like he is in this picture below!

The Brooks Ghost 3.

Saying goodbye to a really good friend can be difficult.  Especially a friend that has been with you for many months.   Braved frigid winter temperatures, rain, sun, humidity, heat, pavement, and trails.  Saying goodbye to your favorite pair of shoes can be heartbreaking.  I have put the Saucony Ride 2's into retirement, they have been relegated to the medial task of keeping my feet comfy at work.  Enjoy retirement Ride's because after retirement you will be relegated to grass cutting which will only leave you stained green and tattered.

You see, I loved these shoes.  I don't think I have ever loved a pair of running shoes more than these.  I finally found a shoe in the Saucony Ride and then Ride 2 that I loved.  They fit me perfectly, they were light, they were comfy, and they didn't rub or cause blisters.  Then Saucony decided to change the shoe.  I went to Fleet feet the other day and tried on a pair or Ride 4's only to find that they tightened up the toe box on the shoe and now it rubbed on the outside of my foot when I ran and it cramped my toes.  Frown.  I have to find new shoes.

I consulted the always friendly and knowledgeable staff at Fleet Feet and was directed to the Brooks Ghost 3 (currently on sale because they just got in the 4's).  I was intrigued.  Would this shoe be as comfortable as my last pair, could I ever love again?  You see I am a shoe snob, always have been.  I can't help it, I can tell the first time I wear a pair of running shoes if I will like them.  I can also tell by the fatigue in my legs when its time to replace said pair of shoes because when I get home my legs ache.  Please judge me if you must but I am picky about my shoes, but its what's inside that counts I don't go on looks alone.  You can keep your Nikes, your Adidas, and your RBK's.  You can't sell me on toning shoes or other gimmicky crap for the average consumer, I want a running shoe that has a sole (get it sole...not...soul...) purpose in life to make running more enjoyable.  So after quietly weeping to myself that my Saucony's were moving on to people with more narrow feet and neutral running style I reluctantly tried on the Brooks.  I don't have anything against Brooks honestly I don't.  In fact I love my Cascadia Trail shoes, but I have never worn Brooks out on the road.

I put them in the store and was offered the chance by the sales girl to take them out for a quick jog around the parking lot.  I was excited for the spin around the lot because when I laced those puppies up they just felt good.  I did my lap around the lot and thought I heard angels singing because these shoes felt exactly like my previous pair of Saucony Ride 2's, only lighter.  I didn't weigh the shoes to find out but they feel lighter on my feet.  Feeling satisfied with the purchase I took them home and made it a point to make sure I got out for a run on Saturday to test them out.

I was up late on Friday so I opted to sleep in Saturday and instead run after work at 4pm.  Of course if you have been keeping up with the weather around these parts you would also know that it has been near 90 all week but the humidity was relatively low for this time of year.  I came home as excited as a muggle on the release of the new Harry Potter Flick and immediately changed into my running gear and put on the Ghosts.

I went for a 4 mile run in the heat in about 33.5 minutes.  Then warmed down with a brisk walk for 5 minutes and headed in to the A/C to try to get my body back to a reasonable temperature.

Saucony who?  I love these shoes!! Love Love LOVE them.  They are  well cushioned, they don't rub, and they look sweet.  They have a slight curve to the sole as well so it feels very natural wearing them.  Traction was also very good with them, but then again pretty much anything that touched the pavement was gooey and sticky in this heat so I will let you know the next time I run in wetter weather how they hold up.  The shoe is well ventilated and my feet never felt like they were overheating either.  I am a neutral runner and I felt that these shoes did not hinder or change my stride or foot striking either.  I am happily impressed with them!  Sometimes it takes a little heartbreak to open your eyes to what else is out there. 

Runner's World Magazine also has this shoe as an Editors Choice and many of the reviews online are also very favorable.  After some reading up on Brooks as well I learned that they have an EXCELLENT guarantee with their products as well.  (I lifted this directly from their website)

Brooks' True Blue Guarantee

Brooks products come with a no-questions-asked, 30-day satisfaction guarantee. If for any reason you are not completely satisfied with your new Brooks equipment within the first 30 days after purchase, we will replace or exchange your product.

To return item(s) purchased on Brooksrunning.com

Unworn Items: To return an unworn item for a refund, please package it in its original packaging and return it within 30 days. You are responsible for the cost of shipping the item back to us, and we recommend using a shipping method with tracking for your return. Please use the address label provided in your original shipment. We do our best to refund your credit card within 48 hours of receipt. After that, your bank may take between 2 and 10 days to credit your card.
Worn or Defective Items: Brooks products come with a no-questions-asked, 30-day satisfaction guarantee. If you are not completely satisfied, please call us at 1-800-227-6657 and we will replace or exchange your product free of charge. Please note that abuses to the exchange policy, such as abnormal wear and tear, are subject to Brooks' discretion. When used for its intended purposes, Brooks footwear has a life expectancy of 300 to 500 miles or three to six months.

So if you are a neutral runner and you are in the market for a cushiony, buttery smooth road shoe I highly recommend you check these out!

Happy Running!

Weigh In update.

Nothing exciting to report from my usual Sunday weigh in.  Lost 0.0lbs last week, good news though I didn't gain anything either.  I am sure the two trips with the wife, and the wifes family to The Original Pancake house didn't help.  No worries though just sticking with the plan and the workouts.  Speaking of workouts, check out the review of The Brooks Ghost 3's coming next!

change of pace...

When it comes to cardio I have been strictly running this year to get back in shape and to help promote weight loss along with my new healthy diet.  So to break up the monotony and bring out some fun that I haven't had in a while I pulled out the mountain bike and went out to tear up the trails in South Park today.  I had a great time!!  I was shocked to also find out that my Garmin Forerunner works VERY well even in the woods with heavy tree cover!  I covered about 7.5 miles on the roads and the hilly back singletrack trails of the woods surrounding the park.  I "forgot" what a great cardio workout mtn biking is!  Wow...I was breathing hard and my legs were really burning on some of the more steep goat paths in the woods!!  I didn't stop to take many pictures because I didn't want to interrupt my workout.  But I stopped once in the woods to dig some thorns out of my shoe that were digging into my foot, and once in the singletrack to let a guy and his dog get past me.

All in all it was a great morning workout in the cool summer morning today!

I also decided to stop at fleet feet sports this morning to pick up a new pair of running shoes to replace my compressed and worn out Saucony Ride 2's.  I switched to Saucony about 2 years ago and have really really loved the shoes they make.   The plan was to head back in and try on and pick up a pair of the new Rides, which is now the Ride 4.  They looked very similar to the shoes I have, but the sales girl told me that alot of people have been coming in requesting the Ride3's if they still had them in stock because they made some changes to the new shoe.  I put on the Ride 4's and they had the traditional Saucony cushiony comfort and felt light.  BUT, and this is a big butt, the toe box in the shoes is substantially more narrow than past versions of the shoe.  I took them for a spin around the parking lot and felt an unusual rub on the outside of my foot.  I didn't like it, and felt it would lead to blisters on longer runs.  So I went back into the store and asked what else they had in a more neutral style running shoe.  The girl brought me out a pair of the Brooks Ghost 3's.  They also have the Brooks Ghost 4's in stock as well but they are $20 more than the 3's.  So I tried them on and they felt VERY light.  I went for another lap around the parking lot and was very happy with them.  I will be taking them out for their inaugural run this weekend and I will write up a review on this new shoe!

Off to golf now!  Have a great day all!

weekly weigh in.

Its been a few weeks since I did a weekly weigh in post.  I weighed in sunday at 204.7.  I only lost .1lb this week.  In all honestly it was a bad week for my diet and exercise.  I have no one to blame but myself with this outcome.  I ate poorly, drank much more beer than normal, and only ran 2 days.  But I am off to a rousing start to the week.  I spent 2.5 hours on Sunday chopping an old oak stump to bits with a 10lb maul.  My biceps, triceps, shoulders, back  and hands are incredibly sore today.  I will be up at 550am tomorrow running so if you are in the neighborhood and happen to have your running shoes on feel free to join me. 

Have a great night.  More from me soon.

Time for new shoes?

I am beginning to think its time for a new pair of shoes.  I have always been taught that after 300 miles you should replace your shoes because the cushion will be compressed too much to protect your joints.  Seeing as I am still a big, but shrinking guy I need all the cushion for my joints that I can get.  I have a primarily neutral running style and am relatively light on my feet.  Years of coached running have helped to condition my stride so that I don't slap my feet and pound my joints but carrying close to 30 extra lbs sure doesn't help.

I went out for my normal early morning run before work today at 550am.  It was beautiful outside.  Not too humid, very cool, and not many cars on the road!  I started running and the knees were a bit creaky this morning, another good indication that its time for some new kicks.  Overall the run was a good one I settled into a comfortable pace early on at just under 8 minute miles but really petered out on the first long hill.  By the top of the hill I might as well have been walking.  Normally at the top of the hill I would hang a left and head back to my start line and run the first loop again but after the lag coming up that hill I decided to hang a right and continue out to Old Clairton Blvd and run the flat level sidewalks so that I could get some distance but avoid the hills.  Came back down the middle loop of my run at close to a 7:16 mile pace (gravity was helping me as it is a mostly minor graded downhill) for the last half mile and finished strong.  2.6miles in 23:22, guess that hill really did slow me down!!

I walked in the door and was  still huffing and puffing a bit and I hear a calm "Hon, can you come here" come from the kitchen.  I walked in and she was standing near the refrigerator and she said look at this... (she was pointing to the countdown timer she has on the fridge that she started on the day we found out our due date)...

I looked down at the timer and it reads, 45 days.  45 DAYS!! 45 DAYS!! holy moly...45 DAYS!!  This baby could be here any day soon!! Suddenly this pregnancy just took a dramatic turn from eventually it will be here till 45 days until we will have a crying, pooping, eating, sleeping, and crying baby boy in the house!  Life is definitely going to change in less than 45 days.

Happy 4th!

Have you ever had one of those mornings where you woke up to run and just felt like you couldn't make your feet go?  You mope around the house trying to find an excuse not to get out there.  You put on your gear, lace up the shoes, throw on the ipod and then walk out the front door.  The humidity hits you in the face like a spatula full of cake icing...mmmmm cake...but I digress.

I headed out and down the street walking to get a bit warmed up, right as I got to my normal starting line the iPod totally came through with a fast paced song from Rise Against.  I started off on my run and approached the first hill and went into attack mode.  I crushed the hill at a near full sprint, got to the top and settled into my run pace.  When I looked down at the Garmin I was shocked to see that pace was 7:23/mile.  I felt surprisingly good after such a sluggish start to my morning.  I eventually slowed a bit to a 7:54 pace but was able to maintain that for most of the run.  On the hills my pace did slow into the high 8's, but quickly returned to the 7's on the flats and downhills.  I finished the run (including warmup and cooldown) in just under a half hour.  Total distance was 3.09 miles,  the running sections had an average pace of 8:12 courtesy of the Garmin.

Goes to show you that sometimes you just have to get out there and do it because it could be one of your best days yet.

Happy 4th Everyone!! and Happy Birthday Mom!  You share your birthday with the Greatest Country in the World!! Love you Mom!!