The past: The Asics Kayano 11, the first top-of-the-line running shoes I ever purchased. I bought these in the spring of 2005, during training for my first marathon, and they carried me through all three marathons that I ran in the 11-month span from May 2005 to April 2006.

The present: The Asics Kayano 12, the successor to the previous shoes. I bought these to replace the old ones, as I was far past due. However, this also occurred just as I moved to Wichita, and saw my whole running life turn upside down. I gave up the sport for nearly three years, until I began running again in December 2008.

The future: The Asics Cumulus 10. During my most recent running, I started to develop serious shin pain, even after the initial start-up pains. This got so intense that I have been on about two weeks of (forced) rest to heal my shins. During this time, I reevaluated my choice of footwear, and through an intense analysis of my stride by some running experts, and careful examination of all choices available for my foot, I chose this new model to better suit my stride.

(For anyone interested, here's the breakdown: 1. My old shoes were too small, causing my feet to tense up and put extra pressure on my shins. 2. My old shoes provided massive arch support...which I do not need, due to my pronation tendencies and high arches. The extra arch support exacerbated my leg problems. 3. My shoes had aged for 3 years, causing the foam in the soles to harden up. 4. There were too stinkin' many miles on the old shoes!)

So, if you're a GR junkie (and I know you're out there!), this is the best explanation for my nearly-two-week hiatus from posting to this blog. I'll be back at it this weekend and next week, looking to make a mighty push toward the Bank of America River Run, where I will have my dad and many of my friends running 2 miles with me.

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