Deep Thought

It's hard to keep your legs moving when running in humid weather.

I just finished a four mile speed run and my legs are all quivery - like I've been doing squats.

Kindle

I bought a Kindle last year and I have really enjoyed reading with it. It is lightweight, the screen is extremely readable, and the battery seems to last forever. My only concern when I bought it was that not all of the books I wanted to read were available on the Kindle. But so many books were available, that it wasn't really an issue. Plus, with most books priced at under $10, I figured that the device would quickly pay for itself.

Has anyone else noticed that most Kindle e-books are now being priced at $11.99? And I'm not talking about new releases. I'm talking about books that have been out in the marketplace for years.

What really annoys me is that this price point is higher than the price of buying a new paperback. To take just a few examples:

Norwegian Wood, by Haruki Murakami: $11.99 (Kindle); $8.62 (paperback)
Cloud Atlas, by David Mitchell: $11.99 (Kindle); $10.20 (paperback)
Oscar and Lucinda, by Peter Carey: $11.99 (Kindle); $10.85 (paperback)
The Remains of the Day, by Kazuo Ishiguro: $11.99 (Kindle); $8.64 (paperback)

I suppose to deflect criticism, Amazon has been including a note next to the Kindle pricing, stating that the price was set by the publisher. But I don't particularly care where the responsibility lies, I still find it irksome, and I plan to begin reading paper books again.

Pedroia's Stuggles Explained?

I always check in with Joy of Sox in the morning for a synopsys of the previous night's Sox game. Imagine my terror when I opened it up to see this headline: "Pedroia Returns To Boston, Surgery A Possibility"

Petey's knee is bothering him, which explains his uncharacteristic troubles at the plate. It sounds like this is just a precautionary measure, but I wouldn't be suprised to see him on the DL soon. With Lowrie's shoulder hurting, I'm not sure who would be taking his place at 2B - would the Sox have to call someone up? Iglesias up to play SS, with Scutaro moving to 2B?

Nostalgia

Remember those days when the Yankees were in their prime and the Red Sox were a bunch of upstarts, and you'd get nervous every time the week in the schedule arrived when we had to play them, and then, somehow, the Red Sox would get ahead of them in a game, and it would be the most unbelievable, exciting, edge-of-your-seat event?

Do you miss those days?

23:59

it's a long way off from my PB in a 5K, but i am also a long way from the condition i was in when i achieved my PB.  but i'm happy to report i can no longer consider myself "out of shape" as i could earlier this year.  the miles are finally paying off.

todd and i are running the Sharon Timlin Memorial 5K in a week and a half, and, while i want to be realistic with my expectations, i also push myself.  my last 5K was over 3 years ago, and i've spent the better part of the last 2 years injured and not consistently running.  the past 3 months i have started to seriously try to get back into shape, and over the past couple weeks, i'm started to feel my legs coming in under me.  i ran a "test race" this weekend, to see where i'd fall.  i really pushed it and saw 24:30 on the clock when i was done.  not particularly fast for me, but a minute faster than anything i've run in the past 6 months for 3.1 miles.  i figure that on race day, i will have that adrenaline i always get at races that'll push me harder, trimming that extra 30 seconds.

i don't think i should have any problem doing it...  and, i know i'll be absolutely crushed if i don't.  it's not about being fast; 23:59 is *not* fast, not even by my own standards.  it's about measuring up...  about setting a goal and achieving it.

Blake Swihart

Among other picks in last night's draft, the Red Sox came away with Blake Swihart. He is generally regarded as the best available catcher in this year's draft. He is a switch-hitter who hit 0.529 during his junior year of high school. He also claims to be able to to throw 95 mph and dunk a basketball. Some interviews with the kid are available here and here. It's too soon to be making any predictions, but it's good to see the Red Sox getting a catcher into the system.

Shoe Review: Asics Gel-Bandito

First impressions can often be deceiving, so while I continue to get accustomed to my new Saucony Kinvara 2's, I thought I'd post a review of the shoe that they will largely be replacing: the Asics Gel-Bandito.

In brief: the Bandito is my favorite running shoe that I have worn to date. Unfortunately, they were discontinued at the end of 2009, and while a few pairs can still be found in odd sizes around the internet, there aren't any that my feet will fit into. My pair doesn't have too much more life left in them, so it's about time to move on.

I bought the Bandito about a year ago, when I wanted to start moving away from motion control shoes, but I wasn't willing to give up support altogether. At that time, I also was looking to move into a lighter shoe than what I had been wearing. The Bandito is a lightly posted shoe, and Runner's Warehouse weighed the size 9's in at 7.9 oz, so they fit the bill. (As for the other significant stat: RW measured the heel height at 19 mm and the forefront at 10 mm. So, while the heels are not as built up as most, those who obsess about heel drops will probably lose interest right about here.)

The biggest reason I love these shoes is their breathability. I've run in them as far as 18 miles, and even on warm days, my feet never come out feeling hot or wet. The reason for this is the very open mesh upper. You can see the light shining through it in the picture below:

What's more, the shoe even has small holes in the sole:

All of this means that this is the only shoe I have worn that can almost guarantee me a blister free run. (I say "almost" because the one time I splashed through a few puddles, my feet quickly became soaked, leading to eventual blistering -- that's the downside of the mesh.)

Despite the very lightweight material, my feet stay nicely locked in these shoes. Part of this is due to the overlays, but I think the biggest factor is the laces. Unlike other shoes I have worn these laces don't stretch, and they have no give. Moreover, except at the very top the shoe has an extremely thin tongue; just more of the same mesh material. This means you have to pay extra attention when lacing them up: tie the laces too tight, and your foot is going to be in serious pain after a few miles, as I learned the hard way during a few early runs.

By the way, notice the faux-snakeskin that the overlays are made out of. Whoever designed these shoes included some seriously cool details. They don't make shoes like this very often.

But perhaps all these details made them too expensive to manufacture, because ASICS never came out with a "Gel-Bandito 2". Instead, they just began channeling people into other models. For a while, I was thinking about buying the Gel-Speedstar 5, but there have been too many reviews complaining about how those shoes don't breathe at all. Hopefully, ASICS will return to Bandito-style mesh soon.

The other factor for me is that I wanted a shoe with more cushioning. Although ASICS billed these shoes as "long distance racing flats," once I started getting above 15 miles, my feet started hurting. Surely, part of this is because the padding was already a bit tired by the time I started running so far. And an even bigger part is because my feet are still weak. In any case, I decided to look for a shoe with more padding, but still lightweight and breathable. I'll let you know if the Kinvara 2 fits the bill.