Week Training Log: 9/29 - 10/5

With the obvious highlight of the week being my run at the Andiamo 45, I do have something to be sad about after last week...I found out that Brooks has discontinued the Radius shoe. Nooooo!!! I've run over 2,500 miles this year alone in that model shoe, and I really REALLY liked them! Oh well, I guess the good news is I still have a month or so to find a new shoe to wear during the Texas race. My first instinct for finding a replacement was to order the new Brooks Ghost model as it seemed like a somewhat close replacement for the Radius. After lacing them up and taking them out for my usual 8.5 mile loop, I can pretty much say the Ghost will not be resurrected for any races in my future. It's not that they're a bad pair of shoes, it's just that for some odd reason the folks at Brooks decided to sew in a really tight strip of fabric across the toe box that forced me to crack out my scizzors for some Shoe Surgery before I even took them out for a run. You can see the 'Black Strap of Death' in the photo above - it's the vertical stripe just where the laces start near the toe-end of the shoe. There's a matching 'White Strap of Why?' on the inside that I was also forced to cut out.

I know everyone has different feet and not every shoe is going to fit everyone just right, but I can honestly say I'm the least picky person in the world when it comes to running shoes. I have completely "normal" feet, and aside from making sure I buy a size 11.5, I don't ever worry about the other aspects of the fit. Also, since I have a pretty efficient and normal stride/foot strike, I don't need any fancy stability control or anything. Just give me a shoe that's not too heavy and has enough cushion to get me through my long runs and I'm happy. The Radius made me happy. The Ghost's confusingly narrow toe box strap does not make me happy. Boo!

After all of my alterations, I can now run 8.5 miles without worrying about chaffing on the top of my foot where the toe box gets narrow above the base of my toes, but I don't trust them for anything longer. All the Drymax socks in the world can't fix a shoe that doesn't fit right. Oh well. The search continues...R.I.P. Radius!!

Week Training Log:
Monday - 8.5 miles - Hains Point Loop
Tuesday - 8.5 miles - Hains Point Loop
Wednesday - 8.5 miles - Hains Point Loop
Thursday - 8.5 miles - Hains Point Loop
Friday - Off Day
Saturday - 45 miles - Andiamo 45 miler
Sunday- 8.5 miles - Hains Point Loop

Week Total: 87.5