Bleh.

Those of you who have spent a bit of time running will recognize The Position: hands on knees, head down, gasping for air; the posture of the completely spent, blown out runner.

Not that I have gone running today. Nor yesterday, nor the day before. Ah, the return to Real Work Hours (which in doctor-speak means, oh, about 70 per week). Devastating to psyche and spirit. Somehow, I just can't convince my body that getting up at 4 am to "get a run in" is a great idea.

Doesn't help that the little ones still haven't grasped the concept of sleep. While they are cute when playful at 11 pm (and 12 pm, and 1:37 am, 2 am, 2:35 am, 3 am, 3:15 am, 4:02 am, and 4:27 am) it is somewhat disruptive to adequate recovery for both me and the missus. The Kids have finally broken us, and we both lie about like dishrags.

On another note, one reader requested a comment about shoes, I presume of the running variety. I note well that the asker is both female and quite the connoisseur of shoes; I doubt my ability to add significantly to her knowledge within that realm.

Katie tells me these are nice. Suck to run in, though.

This is what I know: the more you run, the more fit and function have to dominate over looks. At some point, a shoe will tell you it isn't actually a perfect fit--it just may take 15 miles to do it. Should you never approach that threshold, you never have a problem.

My feet are more square than rectangular, and thus require very wide widths. This essentially limits me to New Balance brand shoes, with the occasional Asics or Mizuno thrown in.

That's ok, there's plenty to choose from. They get the job done, but are mostly ugly, as seen below.
Right about now, I'm really ready to drop major $$$ for a pair like this, as my feet are telling me that my $95 Mizunos don't fit, with a threshold of about 10 miles. And I'd like to run further than that (as my goal is to run a marathon). The really crappy part, of course, is that it took a few 10 mile runs to find that my major shoe investment is worthless. Grrr.