Things I’ve Changed My Mind About
Don’t worry! Unlike last week’s post where I shared Deep Thoughts about vaccines, this post is all running-related! Let’s dive right in with this first one: A few months ago I found myself craving lemonade on my hot, sweaty trail runs. Then I discovered this product. It’s like a gel, but more liquid-y. It seemed like a dream come true… until I tried it. I hated this!!! First of all, no big surprise here but it was obviously hot by the time I was trying to ingest it out on the trail. Who wants hot lemonade? But let’s look closer at that last sentence… I was TRYING to ingest it. In other words, it was hard to get it all down. The whole point of a gel is that it’s quick and easy- you squirt it into your mouth and it’s done. This just went on and on. It was too thin, too much liquid, and too hard to drink it all. Blech. The best part is, in my infinite wisdom I bought a box of twelve. I’m trying to think of how to use them up. Maybe squeeze one into my water bottle? But then every sip I take will be lemon flavored and that could get old. Possibly I could freeze one? After thirty minutes in the heat it will probably just be hot again. Well… I’ll think of something. Here’s the next one: This time, I went the other way. I initially did NOT like LMNT. It’s really, really salty and some of the flavors are bizarre (chocolate salt? Lemon habanero?) The first time I tried one, it made me nauseous. I decided to stick to my Nuun. Then my husband bought a box of the watermelon salt flavor. It’s still a little weird, but it’s growing on me. I’ve found that if I drink half of one, it’s perfect. On a shorter run day, I’ll drink half after my run. On a long run day, I’ll drink half before my run and half after. It’s definitely working great- I used to feel a little headache-y and depleted later in the day after my long runs, and this seems to have solved that problem. Okay, here’s the last one… shoes. After running in New Balance for years, I decided to branch out. Well, I should specify that I usually alternate between the Hoka Cliftons and New Balance 880s. I’m always on the lookout for shoes with a wide toe box- the problem is that a lot of them are also zero drop, and I just can’t do that right now with my plantar fasciitis. Darlene has been mentioning how much she loves her Topos, so I decided to try them! I got the Phantom 2, which is a neutral shoe with a 5mm drop. I would prefer an even higher heel to toe drop, but my Cliftons are 5mm so I knew these wouldn’t be too low. I ran in them for the first time today and I like them! They feel light and peppy, with plenty of room for my fat feet. I do have one complaint, however… let’s look at them again. What is up with these colors? I wish I could have been at the meeting where someone said, “How about teal, orange and fluorescent yellow?” and everyone said “Yes! That sounds perfect!” I guess it’s…. cheerful, but I think this color combination is hideous. But that’s okay- I don’t care what my running shoes look like, as long as they’re comfortable. The only thing is, when I’m done running in them I like to be able to wear them to work. I won’t be wearing these to work. What things have you changed your mind about lately? Do you care what color your running shoes are? What’s your favorite running fuel?