Moose, more snow and Brooks Ghost 5 review

Well, it finally (finally!) stopped snowing up here in Anchorage. But it's nowhere near spring. Last night it was eight degrees at our house. Eight. Degrees.


The trails are a mess so I spent the evening at the gym doing intervals on the treadmill. It's to the point that the guy at the front desk (his name is Miracle, isn't that a beautiful name?) knows both of our membership numbers by heart, MM and I have been going so often. We don't even have to flash our badges.


The below photo is to remind all of you out there running in shorts (shorts!) that some of us pathetic fools are still plugging away in tights and windbreakers, hats and mittens.




I dunno. I think this view alone is worth the mittens.

Today my favorite moose came for an afternoon visit. Note the amount of snow still in the yard.

So, so cute! Well, cute as long as I keep my distance (used a zoom lens, hee, hee).

The other news is that (drumroll please), I bought new running shoes!

I fretted for weeks about giving up my beloved Asics and was going to buy the Brooks Glycerin 10. But then, right before MM and I left for the store, I checked my blog and Karen (thanks so much, honey), suggest I buy the Ghost 5.

And I did. And I love (love!) them. I swear, running is like a dream. The shoe seems to better fit my natural gait, and my stride flows more easily. And while I only ran eight miles, I did six sets of half mile intervals and my feet felt light the whole time. I didn't even realize that I was wearing shoes.

What I like most about the Ghost 5 is the wider toe box. (When did running shoe companies begin fashioning such narrow toe boxes?) It also better supports midsole landing; I didn't have to fight against a heavily-cushioned heel to land in the center of my foot.

One thing that troubles me, however, is the higher arch in the insole. Since I have a very low arch, I can feel it settled against my foot. I didn't notice it while running but do while walking. I may have to do away with the insoles and buy others, but that's no big deal.

I do hope that my Brooks shoes last as long as my Asics, which had racked up almost 800 miles before I finally tucked them away in retirement.

Other news: My son graduates from college in May (yes, I am that old). He's graduating with honors, so I'm sure I'll embarrass him an sob like a baby through the whole ceremony.

Cheers and happy running, everybody.