Running Shorts

About 10 days ago I drove down to Nashville for the Music City Distance Carnival , which is a very unique event of mid- and long-distance track races. It's a really cool atmosphere that brings together youth, post-collegiate, masters, and professional runners contesting distances of 800 to 5000 meters. In an endless slog of road races, it's fun to change things up and experience the speed of the track, which I have definitely missed since college. It turns out the 'speed of the track' wasn't all that speedy for me. I ran 14:47 (I was hoping for about 30 seconds faster) and placed 12th. The good news, though, is that I didn't get lapped. I came into the race really confident after a 14:33 road 5k PR two weeks earlier, so I felt I was really primed to run 14:20. I could be happy with 14:20...it's right near my college PR, and to get back there after focusing on longer distances would be a good sign. However, it just wasn't meant to be this weekend. I...

All joking aside, I got good news from Saucony earlier this week! I filled out an application in January, and here are the details: So the program (can I call it a team?) is called the Saucony Hurricanes, and they provide some gear for running-specific athletes. As a Hurricane, I get 4 pairs of shoes and a racing kit (singlet, shorts, half-tights, warmups, shirts, arm sleeves, a backpack, etc.), all for free. Anything in addition to that is 50% off. But wait! There's more! They also offered me a spot as a Hurricane Launch Rep, which means I have to host 2 events promoting the brand and also make periodical visits to 10 local Dick's Sporting Goods stores. In return for that, I get $600 in Visa pre-paid cards (for travel expenses) and $2,000 extra to spend on Saucony merchandise. Two. Thousand. Dollars. I think now the biggest problem is: what am I possibly going to spend $2,000 on? Needless to say, I just ordered a crapload of stuff. And yes, "crapload" is an of...