Running in “Da Hood”, Becoming Fashion/Yoga Expert & Free Lululemon Gear!!!

I’ve been cray cray bizzay. Let’s catch up, shall we?

Chicago Marathon training has kicked in and I’m pretty excited about it. For this, I’m going to continue to do my long runs whenever I can with WRRC. Solid folks.

Last week’s subtle group.

It’s summer now, and that means they do a lil’ thang called “Run My Hood”. Basically, each week we meet at the house of a different runner and run their favorite neighborhood course. It’s pretty cool. I’ve often thought on my own neighborhood runs how I’d like to show other people “my route”.

Anyway, the best part of the run is the after-run. Hey hey, pool part-ay today-hey!

Lounge.

Chill.

Fresh.  BTW, Snapchat – @piratebobcat – hit me up, fool!

As always, I like to incorporate cross training into my…well, uh, training. The trails are all flooded in North Texas, so that’s a no-go. But it can’t rain in yoga class (well, except maybe rain sweat).

My elf friend and I finally mastered “Partner Chair Pose”.

And I gots to give a big shout out to Lululemon. At yoga practice the other day, the employees called me up to the front. They said they wanted to thank me for being a regular yogi, “Go pick out any yoga mat…it’s yours!” I was so surprised and honored…and PUMPED!

The mat my foot finally chose.

It was so cool of them to do that. And I gotta say, this mat is like night and day compared to my old one…or is it like day and night, IDK. What I do know is the quality of this mat is top notch. No slipping when I sweat, good padding, solid construction – just incredible.

And bonus, my looooooong time friend (you can see her in a couple group run pics above) has been at these yoga seshes because the studio she goes to and teaches at is putting on the classes!

Meet Virginia. She never compromises. Loves babies and surprises. Wears high heels when she exercises. Ain’t it beautiful?

Other than that it’s been sweaty doggy walks. And seeing as I’m an fashion expert, I made a quick tutorial on how to look good as you walk the hound.

Of course there’s lots of other stuff goings on, but I’ll save it for the next post…I don’t want to tire your pretty little heads too much today. Have a great weekend, hombres y mujeres!

How bout you? Ever get to run someone else’s “hood”? Ever been rewarded by a business you regular (other than the corner pub)? Ever Meet Virginia?

-Scott

PS – Best of luck to everyone running Grandma Marathon this weekend! I have a few Dallas friends there – Look for them – They’ll probably be in tops with “WRRC” on the front and “Run Free” on the back. Slap em on the backside for me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Shoe Review: Mizuno Wave Rider 18

Disclaimer: Mizuno sent me a pair of Wave Rider 18 to test out. That said, the opinions here are my own.

There’s nothing better than coming home to a new pair of shoes that the mail person left on your front step. In this case, it was Mizuno’s new Wave Rider 18. Yippee!

New shoes! It’s like Christmas in October – we’ll call it Octmas.

First off, I must confess that even though I live in Texas, I’m bit of a hippie.

Yes, we dressed like hippies for a recent mud run. Why not?

And since I’m hippieish, I like how this shoe is based on a Japanese concept called ‘Hado’. They say that means, “the intrinsic vibrational life force energy that promotes powerful transformations.” Mizuno says they try to harness the transformative power possibilities of every run in this shoe. Like I said, I like that kind of hippie dippie stuff.

I assume that’s the Japanese translation.

I must also admit that I always wished I lived on the beach and surfed all day. But I’m landlocked in Texas, and so I like the idea of thinking of the roads as waves and the shoes as my board. Wave rider!!

Anyway, once I put these shoes on, one thing immediately stood out to me – these shoes are STURDY. I haven’t put many miles on them, but I feel like they would hold up for a long time. That said, they’re comfortable enough to allow my feet to bend and move freely. And the thick sole should provide plenty of cushioning during the course of training.

Here’s some specs:

• Type: Neutral
• Midsole Drop: 12 mm
• Weight: 9.2 oz
• Cushioning: Med
• Pronation: Normal
• Wide/Narrow: Available in Wide

And here’s some of Mizuno’s Key Features:

• An ideal heel fit and secure midfoot embrace make this lightweight trainer feel like a part of your foot.
• The parallel Wave in the heel, lightweight U4ic midsole and optimal amount of forefoot flexibility all work together to make every stride smooth and flowing.

If you had the Wave Rider 17, here’s what’s new in the 18’s:

• Refined toe-spring delivers a smooth, effortless toe-off
• Upgraded premium sock liner provides more rebound and resiliency at every foot strike
• New outsole design with added durability and shock attenuation

On my feet and ready to surf!

Now the important part…how do they look??? Well, as you can see in the pics, they are pretty slick. If you went to Auburn University, I’m sure you’ll love the colors of the shoes I was sent. I’m not complaining, but my only wish is that they had sent me the green ones (green is my favorite color).

The green ones.

And for the final factor – coolness. When I first put these on to walk around the house, our 5 year old boy looked at me for a minute and then said, “You’re new shoes are pretty cool.” High praise indeed! As we all know, kindergartners are known for their fashion sense and honesty.

Besides fashion, he’s also an expert on running.

Now me personally, I always like to go to a running store to try on the shoes before I buy them. Each brand/style will differ slightly in size, feel, etc. I like to make sure I get the exact right fit. But these were sent to my by the company without me ever trying them on first, and so far, I think I lucked out.

How bout you? Have you tried the Wave Riders? What do you think of them? What do you think of the colors/design?

-Scott