Clothing Comparison (or how drivers react when I wear less clothes)

Yesterday, I wore:

 + 

And drivers were nice to me. They gave me space, they didn't fly by at Mach 12, they stopped at stop signs and waved for me to go, no one honked or cursed at me (although I did get one wolf whistle), etc. Also, the construction workers stopped traffic for me. Huuuge difference from the winter when I was bundled up in lots of clothes and people were mean. I figured it was nice outside and maybe people were happy that the weather was warm.

Today, I wore:

And some ridiculous baggy Brooks singlet that is so old that I can't even find a picture online. Drivers did not move over or slow down for me, I waited forever at stop signs until there were no cars, I got honked at and cursed at (but at least no one threw anything, I guess), etc. It was basically what happened in winter all over again, despite the fact that it was just as warm as yesterday, only sunnier (yesterday saw some light rain), so apparently it wasn't just people being happy about the weather. I hate using girliness to my advantage...but sex sells, and if it keeps me from getting hit by cars, I may have to wear booty shorts with 2" inseams more often...

Alright, random post, sorry. I do have another shoe review, just need to find time to write it.

Gear Review: Mizuno Wave Precision 12

When I tested the Mizuno Wave Rider 15, I found myself unconsciously making a list of characteristics I wished the Rider had. I would be running and thinking, "Wow, I'd really like this shoe if it had this, and this, and this," hoping that the next iteration of the Rider would take on at least some of those features. Then I tried the Mizuno Wave Precision 12, and I realized that there was no need for me to make a list of what I hoped to see in the Rider 16. My list had pretty much described the existing Precision.

Gear Review: Mizuno Wave Ronin 4

You know that boy (or girl, substitute if you wish) who keeps trying to get your attention and keeps failing? He asks you out, and you accept to be polite, and then he brings you to a Chinese place, except Chinese food makes you sick. Then a few years later, he tries again, now armed with the knowledge that you like Italian, and he brings you to Fazoli's, which is okay, but not exactly your Italian restaurant of choice. Then the morning of your goal race, there's a knock on the hotel room door, and there he is, holding a bagel, a jar of peanut butter, a Powerbar, an apple, a Sugar-Free Red Bull, and a Powerade Zero. And nevermind that you normally drink a Monster Lo-Carb instead of a Red Bull, because it's so close to perfect that you just melt. (And yes, I eat a lot before races. DON'T JUDGE ME). That's Mizuno for me. The first shoe I was put in was the Alchemy, way back in my senior year of high school, which was just wrong for my biomechanics. The second shoe was the Rider, which wasn't terrible, but not really what I wanted. Well, with the Mizuno Wave Ronin 4, Mizuno has finally won my heart.

Shoe Responsiveness, Defined

It's come to my attention that everyone seems to define "responsiveness" in shoes differently. I throw that term around a lot in my reviews, so it would probably do us all a lot of good if I explained what, exactly, "responsiveness" means to me, so that you would at least know what I'm talking about in my reviews.

Internet Memes

I posted this on Facebook on Wednesday, which was kind of late. By that point, the joke was already pretty old and people were getting pretty sick of it (only in the digital age does a joke get old after two days). So now I'm really late. And I think Flotrack or someone beat me to it. But oh well, I liked mine better. If you can't read it, click for full-size.

All of the pictures came from Google search and none of them are mine. Bottom left is from Running Times, bottom right is from LetsRun, and I don't remember where the other three came from, sorry. If they're yours and you want credit and/or me to take it down, just email me and yell at me.

Gear Review: Brooks Pure Flow

As some of you may know, I've been wearing the Brooks Launch as my daily trainer (with the Brooks PureConnect mixed in there sometimes). Unfortunately, some bad timing on my part had me at the National Running Center needing shoes on the spot with no time to actually ask them to order anything. No Launch in stock in my size meant I had to grab something else. Seeing as I had wanted to try the Brooks PureFlow for a while, I decided to take this opportunity to give them a spin.

Before we start, just to get you up to date, information on the Brooks PureProject can be found here.

Gear Review: The Ultimate Beginner's Running Guide: The Key to Running Inspired

For people new to the sport, running can be somewhat intimidating. As nice as the idea of telling them to "just go run," might be, the truth is people want more information, as evidenced by the growing number of books and websites devoted to beginner runners. The question, of course, becomes which of these books and websites are worth reading, and which are not? When author Ryan Robert contacted me about his book The Ultimate Beginner's Running Guide: The Key to Running Inspired, I admit that I was skeptical. I had no idea who Ryan Robert was, and I was a little worried his book would be yet another beginner book that rehashed all the same tired information that was in every single other beginner book. However, upon reading the book, I was pleasantly surprised.