Overall I really like these shoes. Ecco recommends you get used to them gradually, over a six week period. The rationale is that because the shoes force you to run a more “natural” way, you are using muscles differently. I believe it. After I run in these shoes I can feel it in my legs. Not in a painful way but definitely in “boy that worked my calves” way. After a few weeks I feel it less but my legs feel differently after a run with these shoes than with my others. You know how sometimes you feel like your shoes are make of cement? I’ve never had one of those runs with these shoes. They don’t feel significantly lighter than my other shoes but I feel like there’s more spring in my step. Here are some key thoughts if you are considering these shoes.

• They aren’t cheap. I got mine for 25% off and they still cost me $160. BUT, they are made with polyurethane instead of EVA which is what pretty much all other running shoes are made of. EVA degrades over time and that’s why your shoes only last so many miles. Consequently, you can get more miles out of the Biom. The salesperson told us 2-3x more miles, Ecco says about 1.5x. They include an extra pair of insoles because they say the insoles will wear out before the shoes do.
• If you are used to running in a really cushioned shoe, you will notice the difference right away. It’s not like running with marshmallows in your shoe. I’m used to a really cushioned shoe, with these shoes you feel foot hitting the pavement more. It’s not painful and it doesn’t make my feet sore, it’s just a different feeling. I think it makes you feel more connected and aware of your stride.
• Did I mention that the women’s ones are pink?
• They have European sizing so you may have iffy luck ordering over the internet if you haven’t tried them on before. I hear they run a little big. I got a 37 and I wear a 6 in street shoes and a 7 in running shoes.
• I know it’s all mental but I am more motivated to run when I wear these shoes. But whatever gets you out there!
• You can get them in mesh or yak leather. Yes seriously, yak leather. They figured out a way to process yak hides from the Himalayas. The reviews I’ve read from those who’ve tried the yak leather one say that it feels like wearing butter (in a good way).

I’m sure these shoes aren’t for everyone but so far, I’m a convert. I’m going to run the Nike Women’s Marathon in October and I plan to train for it in these shoes. Perhaps I’ll look forward to 20 milers now!

Whether you have new shoes or not, here’s something for your running mix to put a little spring in your step. It’s by She & Him, my current fave in my ipod.

3 mile workout. Start at around your normal pace. Every .5 miles increase the speed one tenth a mile in speed (e.g. 6.8 mph to 6.9 mph). The last .5 mile increase the speed every tenth of a mile and the last tenth of a mile increase about 5 notches. It’s a short but intense workout and speedwork isn’t something I do consistently when I’m running on my trail so it’s a good change of pace for me.

Here’s another thing I discovered and where being a mom comes in handy. What to do with those stinky workout clothes? You don’t want them stinking up your clean stuff in your suitcase or the stuff you don’t wash as frequently like sweaters. Solution – wet bags! These are bags used for wet diapers, baby clothes, potty training mishaps, etc. They are lined with a waterproof material so the moisture and stink is contained. They are also great for wet swimsuits. I bought mine from this etsy buyer, I love the ones I bought and the seller shipped pretty quickly, there are lots of etsy options if you just do a search.

This is from my new fave singer, Ray LaMontagne called Hold You in My Arms which after missing my little one this week was all I wanted to do when I got home. So I didn’t mind much when she woke up at 3 a.m. and needed some nighttime cuddles.

I recently came across a box of medals and race numbers. The medals are great fun for my toddler to play with but what about the race bibs? Here’s a clever crafter who made a bag out of race numbers and t-shirts. Here’s something for my talented friend Sandy to add to her bag offering!

I am of the opinion that if you’ve run a race, you can brag about it forever. Go ahead and wear that marathon race medal around town every day if you want to. Or you can be a little less subtle and turn your race stuff into more useful gear! I think I’ll start making a pattern for a race shirt snuggie.

I love soundtracks, this song was in Julie and Julia which I just saw and I really like it, it’s a good one for your running mix.

Many people assume that to run faster you need to increase your stride length. In truth, many studies have shown that elite runners all have something in common and it isn’t stride length, it’s footstrikes. These runners’ cadence is about 180-190 (or 85-90 per foot) footstrikes per minute. The more efficiently you can turn over your feet, the faster you run. So your challenge is to see where you are. Time yourself for 10 seconds, just count footstrikes on one leg since that’s easier, and see how close you are to the 85-95 number. Now see if you can achieve the ideal cadence of 95 by doing 30 footstrikes in 19 seconds. You can also do this drill as a speed workout.

Now as I sit here freezing at least one part of me is warm, my feet. I hate having cold feet and a couple of years ago I got these down booties. Yes, they are terribly ugly but they are also incredibly warm and they are great for long flights because you can smoosh them and throw them in your carry on. So if you’d rather have warm feet than tragically hip ones, get yourself some of these.

Something for your holiday mix from one of my favorites, Rufus Wainwright. I love all of the Wainwright McGarrigle music, they are what I envision my family would be like if any one of us could play an instrument or sing.

I have a few shirts with quasi mitten cuffs but they don’t cover my whole hands, and gloves are inevitably too warm. Someone needs to invent a running shirt that has fold over mitten cuffs like they have on those little gowns for babies. I saw these cool gloves, they might be too warm for me but those of you who live farther north of the equator might find them useful. They even have a built in key pocket, that’s pretty sweet.

Well I stuck with my pledge and altered my running route, I took a loop I haven’t done for a while and it was a nice change of pace. So the next challenge is to embrace a hill. Most of us hate hills and usually slow our pace when we climb and speed up on the descent. Switch things up, conquer the next hill you encounter – run as hard as you can and slow up on the descent for your recovery. For extra credit, run the hill again. I live at the top of a long gradual hill and especially on long run days, the hill gets the best of me. Not tomorrow though.

Here’s a Hanukkah song for your running mix. I love this song, last year we had a holiday get together for my book club and we played this and the kids danced the hora and loved it.

For that runner with a sweet tooth (hmm, I wonder who that might be), how about some runner themed cookie cutters. How cute are these things?

We all love Tiffany but sometimes we love a cool bargain even more. Lift your sole has awesome charms for a great price, the marathon mom one is just $14! I love the charms and the chain I bought and have had lots of people ask about them.

Anyone who works out knows that stinky workout clothes are the one downside. Sometimes it’s hard to get out that stink, but there are several detergent products just for attacking it. Like Win. Specialty running stores often sell some detergent or you can order Win online.

And speaking of stink, who wants to get their car seat all sweaty and stinky after a run or a workout? Well IGOActive invented a cool thing called the NeatSeat. It’s a seat cover for your car so you can protect your car seat. And you can use discount code “twitter” at checkout for a discount. I got one for my brother and he loves it.

Now that our daylight hours are limited, chances are lots of runners are doing at least some runs in the dark. Safety lights are an inexpensive way to make sure your runner is seen.

If your runner finished a marathon this year, CafePress has tons of marathon and running themed gifts like mugs, t-shirts, ornaments, and car stickers.

Here’s a Hanukkah song for your running mix that will help you figure out that age old problem, applesauce or sour cream on your latkes. I love potato cakes. With sour cream.

Today was my first post-marathon run. I’ve got something weird going on with one of my quads but I was too excited to try out my new running skirt to put off my run another day. Back in April I did a women’s half marathon and I saw tons of women wearing running skirts. And I thought they looked really cute and seemed pretty flattering to lots of body types. I decided to try one. I got one that had sort of a boy short underneath and let me just say Wedgieville got a new member of the population that day. I abandoned those fantasies of me looking cute while running and went back to the running shorts that haven’t been half eaten by my dog.

But a few days before the marathon I was at my friend Sandy’s house and she was telling me she was going to wear her running skirt for her half marathon. She showed it to me and it was super cute and the liner was more like a running short liner. I decided to try again because I am nothing if not relentless in my pursuit of comfort. I checked out the site where she got hers, Runningskirts.com, and to my delight, they had some on sale. Mine arrived a few days ago and today was the maiden voyage. Happily, I have emigrated from Wedgieville! The skirt is awesome. It sits low which I like because I have a very short torso. The material is lightweight and wicking and the liner is great. The liner is just like a running short liner and did not ride up at all. It does not have a key pocket inside but does have two outside pockets with velcro and I put my house key in there and it stayed safely inside. I used their sizing guide to order a size 2 which is supposed to be for a women’s size 4-6. It fits and is comfy, however I like a little more bagginess so I think I’m going to order a size up for my next one. Another very cool thing that I saw on their site is that they sell maternity skirts too. Anyone who’s tried to find maternity workout gear knows that your options are very limited so this is a very good thing. If you are looking for something new to add to your running wardrobe, definitely check out these running skirts.

I’m happy to be back in the running saddle, now that the goal I’ve been working for the past 4 months is crossed off my list, I need to start working on some more goals. I think once a year is about all I need for marathons but I’d like to better my half marathon time and do some triathlons next year. Right now though, I just need to run enough to work off holiday gorging!

How about a little Gene Autry for your running mix today to go along with the picture of my daughter and Rocky the pony. It was her second birthday, which I believe is the traditional “pony in your suburban backyard” birthday. Hey, we live in Texas!

After Charlie returned from his marathon and gave me the race report, I asked how the Nip Guards worked.  Turns out he got kind of hot during the race and decided to take off his shirt.  And then he had to listen to spectators yelling “Hey nip guy” and “Nipple MAN!” for the rest of the race. Fortunately he’s a good sport and saw the humor in it.

I don’t have any nipple themed tunes for your mix. But here’s a little something for your cool down. It’s a classical piece by violinist Joshua Bell. A few years ago, at the request of a Washington Post reporter, Bell played in a Washington Metro station to see how many people would pay attention.  Turns out, very few.  The story is a good reminder that sometimes we really need to slow down and enjoy the world instead of rushing to get through it.  You can read about it here.

Run against traffic Running against traffic allows you to potentially see impending danger.

Assume cars do not see you When I’m at an intersection or near traffic, I never run in front of a car unless I see the driver visually acknowledge me.  I’d rather lose 30 seconds in my run than life and limb.

Make yourself visible Have at least one clothing item that has some reflective elements. Illuminite has some cool clothes.  Or buy some sew on reflective tape and do it yourself.

ID Yourself Just like a will or other responsible vestiges of adulthood, you really should have some sort of ID on you should something happen.  RoadID is a great way to easily do this, just strap on a bracelet or shoe tag and then don’t worry about it again.

Make sure someone knows where you are Tell someone where you are running and how long you will be gone.

Especially for women Try to run with someone, there really is safety in numbers.  That’s not always possible so if you are running alone, think about carrying pepper spray. Run in well-lit areas at night and on high traffic paths and carry your cellphone with you.

If you encounter an unfriendly dog Stop running, don’t make eye contact, and don’t offer a hand to a dog that is snarling or growling at you.  If a dog starts to attack try and get anything other than a body part in his mouth – ipod, water bottle, etc. Pepper spray is another good weapon to have should you run into an angry dog.

If you encounter a bear or mountain lion I’m sorry, I’m too freaked out thinking about this to even research it.  If you live somewhere where this is likely, buy a treadmill.

Here’s a good song for your running mix, I really like the lyrics, especially:

Everyday we wake up
We choose Love
We choose light

That’s something not so bad to aspire to, eh?

Do you ever see those people who have perfectly coordinated workout gear? Yeah, I’m not one of them. The only statement my running outfit makes is “this is the outfit that was at the top of the laundry basket.”  Sometimes it’s fun to add a little “flair” to your ensemble though.  So how about a funky pair of socks?  Sockguy has some great options, like martinis!  But you can also buy a pair of socks and save the world.  Well not exactly but they do have socks where the part of your purchase price is donated to a cause like freeing Tibet, breast cancer research, and development in Rwanda.  Ditch your boring plain white socks and go for something fun once in a while!

Here’s a running mix tune that’s more appropriate for those of you who live in a climate where you deal with falling leaves, here ours just stick around.