Running Shoes

Earlier this week I had the kind of day at work that made me really look forward to my evening workout. The weather was great, but it was a little too late to go home and get my paddleboard, so I decided to go to the Y. When I got to the gym, however, it felt really dark and cavernous compared to the lovely outdoors, so I put on my workout clothes and went for a run outside. I did two laps around Capitol Lake, and unlike last year when I tried this, I felt pretty good afterwards. In the past when I have tried running that far in one stretch, I've ended up with thighs so sore I could barely walk for a week! Am I in better shape this year than I was last year? Yes, and this probably contributed to a faster recovery. I also rode my bike the next few days and did yoga when my legs started to feel tight. I think the biggest contributor though was finally wearing decent running shoes when I went running. I'm such a cheapskate (and also sometimes embarrassed to wear  proper athletic clothes), that I have always run in shoes that were not really suited to runnning. Last fall, someone stole my ratty, ill-fitting Value Village tennis shoes from my locker at the gym, and I finally relented and bought these dorky but very comfortable running shoes.  I thought I hated running, but maybe I'll have to rethink this...running around Capitol Lake in the evening was so beautiful, it was a terrific stress-reliever, and it was great to get in a good workout outside.