#1 – Sara and I put out our first offer on a townhouse! Here is a link to the home. It is exciting for us since we have been looking for houses for about a month and this is the first one we liked enough and could actually see ourselves living there. We like the place and really hope the offer is accepted. We have been searching in Mercer County, NJ and Bucks County, PA. This place is nice, has a better layout than all the other townhouses we visited in the same complex and was cheaper, is in really nice move-in shape, has two large bedrooms and a large living/dining room, and has a good kitchen layout for the two of us. Our plan is to live there five years and then try and see about getting a house for kids. Here is a free plug for my friendTom Hutchinson - (609) 584-7644 - Tom_Hutchinson@Countrywide.Com , who is our mortgage rep, and his wife Sarah, who is our realtor.
#2 – If you look down a couple posts I posted a question on what kind of running shoes to get. After several recommendations to check out the Running Company in Princeton, Sara and I decided to check it out. What a great store!! First off, they are more expensive than if you bought them from roadrunnersports.com. With that out of the way, the people there are the most friendly retail sales people I have ever seen! They actually care that not only does the shoe fit, but it is the correct shoe for your running style! We got there at about 6:45 and they closed at 7 but even though we got there so late, we still got great service. They make you take your shoes off and walk around and notice what your style is (low, collapsing arch with overpronation). Basically, I needed the most supportive shoe they sold, the Saucony Grid Stabil MC5. After you try the shoe on and they fit it correctly (1/2 larger than my normal shoes), they again make you walk around the store or run on the tread mill and make sure the shoes is doing what it is supposed to. I cannot recommend them enough for anyone who runs at all and does not want to destroy their knees and ankles. On a scale of 1-10, I give them a 10! I have worn my shoes the last two days just walking around to break them in and they feel great. I plan on running 3 miles tonight so I am excited to see how they hold up! I will update tomorrow. I have only ever owned Nike’s because I thought they looked good and all the runners here at work run and recommended ASICS.
In reply to #2, last night I ran 3 miles on my new kicks. My observation was that for all my life I have been running wrong! It seems I land on the balls of my feet instead of my heel and then rolling forward. I found this out because I was thinking these “cushion” shoes didn’t have a lot of cushion. Then, as I was running, I realized that if my heel struck first, there was a lot of cushioning and it really gave my calves a break! Usually after I run for a long distance, besides being out of breath, my calves are burning. That’s because I have been using my calves for both the “landing†and the “take-off†instead of using my heels for the “landingâ€. Anyways, now I am just out of breath and my calves feel fine after running 3 miles. I know sprinters run only on their toes and their heels never touch the ground so they can achieve quicker steps, but with my 15min miles, I surely am no sprinter! Other than that, the new shoes really wrap around my feet for a lot of lateral support and feel so nice and squishy in the heel!