Keeping Up

In between all of that eating this weekend, Mrs. Swanie and I went shoe shopping, too. 

This Labor Day we will be completing the Disneyland Half Marathon. Note the very carefully worded statement: We WILL be COMPLETING the half-marathon. Didn't say how. Didn't say "try". 

Mrs. Swanie is one of the people behind this decision on my part, having completed other half-marathons and training for Dopey at Walt Disney World in January (a 5K, Half-Marathon and Marathon over three days.) To give her credit, after strong arming me into registering, Mrs. Swanie offered quite a bit of support including a training program. I knew I needed a new pair of running shoes, so she took me to RoadRunner to make that purchase and I was able to take advantage of her VIP membership while we were there!

The RoadRunner staff gave me a full work-up. Their computer tested my foot arches and how I step. Their video camera watched me walk barefoot on a treadmill to see how I step. They used the big words that confuse me about pronating and supinating or something like that? Maybe? As I suspected, the previous store (not a Road Runner) that had analyzed my feet sold me the wrong kind of shoe. I knew that the shoe was a high quality so I had not worried too much, but when sales people would ask me about my step, my answer did not seem to match their suggestions. I knew that I kick out with my right foot. Road Runner's assessment logically addressed this issue. I almost literally, have two left feet! While most people over-pronate, only my left foot slightly over-pronates. My right foot visibly under-pronates. In other words, my right food behaves as most people's left feet do. I have two left feet!

The staff at Road Runner offered me several shoes to try on. They refused to allow me to try on shoes from the category of my previous shoes because it was the wrong kind of shoe for my stride. I really wanted to like the Asics. I tried the Asics in several sizes and with multiple lacing styles. I tried on Brooks and Saucony. I stubbornly and rationally refused to try on the New Balance because they were only available in orange. A girl has to stand by her convictions. Try as I might to find a not-Nike shoe that I liked, I returned several times to the Nike Vomero shoes. They felt like I was walking on marshmallows. Although the manager said that two years ago he would not have allowed me to purchase a pair of Nikes due to quality issues, he feels they have a very good quality shoe now. With confirmation from the sales girl who runs the Boston Marathon that the shoe fit properly, I purchased the Vomeros.

Considering the heat wave that has hit the Phoenix area since my arrival, I knew that my training would be a challenge. Mrs. Swanie wakes up very early to run. Waking up early is not conducive to perkiness. Last night at about 10:00, the temperature had fallen to only 90 degrees. Mrs. Swanie and I decided to head out for my training walk. Mrs. Swanie's Garmin reported our pace and I happily learned that throughout our walk, I maintained a pace below the Disneyland minimum! Even in the late-night heat, I logged my fastest training pace to date! I have new optimism that I will successfully complete the race in September!

And what about the children?

They have swum...

The child who has cried at swim lessons is now a little fish  - and he loves to grab a kickboard to go out to the deep end and retrieve the football.

They have played video games...

They have hatched dinosaur eggs from Cracker Barrel...

And they have made friends with an American Eskimo...

I taught some girl scouts how to make one of my favorite treats...

This is what was left when I remembered to take a picture. The kids kept eating them. It's a very complicated highly secret recipe.

So when Mrs. Swanie started asking us to stay an extra day, it was very tempting. And when I over heard Miss Genius tell her mother that she really wished we were not leaving on Wednesday, my heart felt a tug. And considering that all we did today was lounge around in our pajamas and there is still food out there to be found and eaten, I called my house sitters to let them know that we will be staying an extra day.

Can you blame me?