New shoes and side aches and gadgets, oh my!

Long blog today, most won't be this long.

Today I went for a jog around my home in Mountain Park. My goal was 3 miles, and I ended up running just under 4. It was a good achievement, except for the first mile. I started strong, then promptly doubled over with a side stitch at 0.5 miles. Great. I have many ailments while running, and nothing comes close to getting a stitch. I've tried everything...shoving a fist under my ribcage (very painful), not eating for 5 hours before a run, eating only yogurt, stretching before a run, stretching while running (just about impossible), forcefully exhaling while my right foot hits the ground...the list goes on and on. The internet is filled with ideas. None of them work for me.

So I spent the first mile dragging myself along the sidewalk in pain. I ran twenty steps, stopped, ran some more, stopped again, and eventually, somehow, got the pain to go away. From there, I was able to run 2.75 miles without stopping.

Although I struggled through the first mile, I was excited to try out some new gadgets I inherited. First thing I tried was a pair of new headphones. Apparently I have tiny misshapen ears, because every single pair I've ever owned have fallen out and/or caused lots of pain. Until now! I knew of one last type of headphones I hadn't tried, so I bought them and took them for a spin. They worked great! They didn't fall out once, and I didn't have an ounce of pain either. In fact, the sound quality is the best I've heard yet from a pair of headphones.

I also needed more light while I run. I didn't want to carry a flashlight in my hand, so I opted for the ever-so-trendy headlamp! Worked well, but between the headlamp and the decrease in oxygen intake I was experiencing, I felt like I was 700 feet underground mining for coal (I thought of mining diamonds, but decided that was too pleasurable of an event to relate to).

Another addition to my gear is a Nike+iPod chip! It is basically a pedometer that speaks to you through your iPod. A chip goes into your shoe which sends signals to your iPod telling you anything from how far you've gone to how many calories you've burned.

With the new Nike+iPod chip, I also needed a new pair of Nike shoes that will support the chip. So I got those too! Very comfortable and light, and they match my iPod=)

It was a fun day trying out all my gear, until my iPod reminded me that my first mile took me 13:30 to complete. Thanks, gadget. Shouldn't there be a "pity minute" button for when you get a side ache? It could take a couple minutes off your time to compensate for time wasted rolling around in pain in the middle of the street. I should talk to Nike about that.

I have gotten a request from a doctor I work with to post some pictures of me "sucking air" and making a fool of myself. "Those are the funniest pictures," he tells me. So since he pays my paycheck, I suppose I will get those pictures up for everyone as soon as I can convince my wonderful, loving husband to help me disgrace myself.