The Struggle is Real

Some days, the struggle is real. The struggle is awful. Some days, the struggle wins.

But it was not this day.

On Sunday, my friend Steph and I strategized to run a 12k rather than the 18k the Running Room group was going to do. I forgot my watch, unfortunately. I didn’t think it would be a big deal. I honestly didn’t. Just run, I told myself, you don’t need to know the time or distance. The group will know, and that’s enough. Ha!

I chattered desperately at first, determined to not be thinking about the time – or distance – that we were running. When we had reached what I was sure would be close to our turning point [6k], I asked how far we’d run.

“3.3k!” One girl chirped.

That was when the grimness set in. I stopped focusing on chatting and started to focus on gritting down for the other 9k. Steph, myself, and another runner split off around 6k so we could head back. Every step was a challenge. I would hold out for as long as I could before blurting out, “when’s the next walking break?”.

Steph – bless her heart – would look at her phone whenever I asked about a walking break and say, “riiight…NOW.” I don’t know if it really was or wasn’t. I didn’t want to know if we were walking every 10 minutes (as we were meant to do) or every 5 minutes just to appease me, or even every 15 minutes because I was the only one keeping track of when we could walk next. I told my buddies I couldn’t keep the pace and needed to slow down and – bless their hearts – they slowed down right with me. And kept talking. And kept me running. I felt ashamed, and apologized profusely to my running buddies for holding them back. “I’m just not feeling it. I’m really struggling today.”

They wouldn’t accept my apology and refused me the right to make it. “You’re fine.” They told me. “We’re still running a good pace and everyone has those days.” I knew it was true, but I still hate it when one of Those Days happens to me!

When I asked our mileage and heard we had done just over 9k, I perked up considerably. 3k left, 3k left, 3k left! And in the end it was less than 3k, as we only did 11.5km. But I did it! Even when the struggle wanted to beat me down and stomp all over me. Sure, the middle 6k were awful, but I did it.

Any Hill Will Do*

I looked outside, drew back the curtain
To see for certain what I thought I knew
And in my mind, my weakness praying
But a strong voice saying
Any hill will do

I wore my hat, with a white lining
Bright sunshine shining, wonderful and new
And in the east, the dawn was dancing
And I kept on chanting
Any hill will do

A long long hill, but not so steep
And so I ran my five repeats
My breath was coming out like panting
I was almost done!

Keep running fast, I kept on saying
Energy fading, and my strength is too
So up I ran, five times repeated
Till I was depleted
Any hill will do

*For best effects, listen to the soundtrack Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat, get two friends (or strangers!) to wave their arms behind you and provide the back-up vocals while you sing this song to the tune of "Any Dream Will Do", by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Priceless

Stress can be a powerful tool in running! There is an event in my life right now that is highly stressful for me. An event I've chosen to NOT disclose on the privacy of this blog [insert sarcasm font].
I went for a run this morning to clear my head. I planned to do an 80min slow run, with walking breaks. I ran out 40min without stopping. And in that 40min I felt strong, powerful, and fast.
Boo-yeah! I told myself, I am killing it! This whole stress-thing makes running SUPER EASY.
...And then I turned around after 40 min...

...and realized I'd been running slightly downhill the whole way.

Okay, maybe the downhill had more to do with the speed and power and ease than anything else. I turned around and ran back home. I did think about stopping, but didn't. I instead powered home at a slightly slower pace of 44min. I opted to run that 1 extra minute to even things out.

Total time: 85min

Total distance: ?around 13km

Total effort: excellent

Results; much clearer head, much calmer mind. Well worth it!

There will be many more days of stress to come in my life, and the benefits of running are priceless.

Two Days, Two Runs

That’s right, baby! I’ve now done two runs in a row. Granted, neither are anything to brag about, even though I still do.

Today was 20 minutes. I just can’t seem to find more time in my morning. Okay, I could easily find more time in my morning. But back to the point. I did a bit of a step ladder. 5 min easy, 5 min more difficult, 5 min quite difficult, then finishing off with 5 min easy again.

Brizzy does not really like to run beside me. He’ll run ahead, or stay behind and run to catch up, but he’s not quite sure what I expect from him when I run. I’m not quite sure what I expect from him yet either.

I also received confirmation last night that there are no structured running groups here. I keep building up hopes that somewhere, someone will know of such a group in this city! But it has been confirmed by many “in-the-know” sources: the answer is no. There are people who run in groups, but no running groups. I’m a little bit gutted right now. I have been doing some serious research and planning into a marathon next spring. I just don’t have the motivation to do the training alone.

Bonus Poop Lap*

Sprints today. It wasn’t meant to be a running day but I woke up early and had the energy, so why not? I did 10 x 1min running with a 1min walking break between. The pup – at first reluctant to join me – was ecstatic when he realized he was going to be off-leash. There are only two times he likes to run with me: when I’m throwing a ball, or when he’s off-leash. The latter isn’t even a guarantee of enjoyment from him. But there were a couple of cats to chase this morning and he was in his glory.

I admit, when I run with Brizzy I’m not the best poop-picker-upper. I make note of where he goes and then collect it once I’m done. Today, I miscalculated where I was in the park relative to where he’d done his duty. So I added in one extra sprint (totaling 11) to go pick up that poop before returning home.

I worked as hard as I could work when not motivated by other runners running with me or an impending race to worry about. I may not be as fast as Elaine Thompson**, but I can be the fastest woman in the dog park on a Tuesday morning!

*Yes. I did just use the word 'poop' in the title of my blog. I never promised it would be classy writing!

**2016 Olympic Champion in 100m, for those not as Olympic obsessed as myself.

Of Steadiness, Stags, and Sleep

I had a successful 60min steady run today. The fact that I meant to make it a tempo run and didn't have the energy/ fitness/ motivation/ insert-excuse-here doesn't really matter. I ran a solid hour at a decent (read: slow) pace. I had meant to use my fancy GPS watch to help me set a pace, but apparently it's still packed somewhere, so I'll wait on that for a few more weeks.
I ran past a group of young teenage boys doing teenage boy things smashing large rocks into the ground to see if they could break them apart. As young teenage boys do at 8am on a Saturday.
I ran into a lovely park and saw a beautiful stag with a huge velvety rack that was likely making the other stags in the forest envious. He watched me cautiously before resuming his meal, so I paused to enjoy his beauty for a bit. But I was still 20min from home so I didn't linger too long.

Not the most successful run I was aiming for, but anything is an accomplishment these days. I feel that every time I am planning to not run in the morning I wake up before 6am bright eyed and energized and it's like...










I'm awake!

                                                         Time to run and play!

...and every time I plan to go for a morning run I feel a bit more like...

Mmmph. Eh? What? Run? No thanks, I'll sleep. I'm sure it's raining anyways...

Some Days Are Like That

Some days things just work. You wake up alert and energized. You feel fit and fantastic your whole run. You finish strong and proud.

Other days are not meant to be.

This morning I went out for a run. I wandered a new path near the burnt forest. It was a nice wide [unused] dirt road. I didn’t have a lot of time planned for the run…just an easy 20min before I had to get home to get ready for work.

15min into the run I was distracted by something moving in the bush beside me. A cat? Something cool? I scanned the bush to see what it was, which was my mistake. My toe hit a rock and suddenly I was stumbling in slow motion to the  ground. I slid along the hard-packed dirt, then rolled on my back to assess the damage.

None. I can’t even say there was damage to my pride, since I was out there with just the dog as witness (who was, I shall say, very confused but happy to see me at face-level with him). Still, I decided it was time to head back.

On the way back I saw another dog owner in the park, so I leashed up Brizzy so we could run past him. Unfortunately, only two of his dogs were on leash. The “friendly” one was off-leash and approached us in a very stiff-legged, less than friendly way. Being a much larger dog than mine, Brizzy and I stopped running and waited for the “friendly” dog to approach while the owner frantically tried calling her back, to no avail. The dog came up to us and cautiously sniffed Brizzy, at which point she seemed to relax enough for us to continue on our way, so we did.

I was feeling better at that point and decided I could loop around to make the full 20min I’d initially planned. Just as I was about to U-turn I saw another dog owner with two little dogs on a leash approaching us. Brizzy also saw them, and went bonkers trying to go say hello to the two little mites. This resulted in me having to drag him on his leash as I tried to run the last couple minutes home. In the effort of turning and tugging on his leash, I stepped on another rock and – don’t ask me how – I pinched a nerve in my big toe. This has never happened to me before, but suddenly I found myself limping as my poor toe went into unhappy spasms. Such a small body part to feel so debilitating!

I gave up. I walked home and called the run finished. I’m happy to report no lingering damage from either my fall or my weird pinched nerve on the toe. I just had to laugh. Because some days…some days are like that.

Reunion

Sunday was a big running reunion for me. I went back to the Eau Claire Running Room for the Sunday long run. Fortunately, two of my good friends were there and we got to run together. Sooo much fun! 12k was not nearly long enough to catch up on all that had happened the last while. But it was more than long enough for my poor, unfit body. At around 7 or 8k my legs started to really twinge around the knee. We were near the starting point and I was tempted to turn around then and there and walk back. But no way could I leave that conversation!

Love these girls! Talking to them, it felt like I'd never left!

So on I ran.

This is why I love running groups…or just running with fit friends! Had I been on my own I would have given up at the first twinge near my knee. I would have run slower. I would have likely walked up the big hill we climbed.

But when you’re surrounded by awesome runners and having a great conversation, the joy just carries you along. So along I was carried. 12k is such a nice distance. It’s long enough you feel it (especially when you’re like me and lost your distance fitness!) but short enough that it doesn’t feel like you’re morning has disappeared when you’re finished.

Everyone kept encouraging me to start a running group up here. There are people who run in groups…but I haven’t found a dedicated running group. I’m too lazy and uncommitted to start one…I just want to join one!

Reluctant but Running

I did not want to run when I got up yesterday morning. And Brizzy made it very clear to me that neither did he! It started at the front door, when he dug in his heels upon getting outside and glared at me as if to say, “don’t you dare make me run, Mom!”

We went to the park across the street. Off went the leash and I started my run. Since I really didn’t want to run, I did 1:1min of ‘sprints’ and recovery 10 times each, for a total of 20 minutes. Not much, but something, at least.

Every time I ran past the park entrance Brizzy bolted ahead and stood at the entrance, giving me his most pathetic/mournful doggy stare he could manage. As I ran past the entrance he waited for a good 30 seconds before reluctantly loping alongside me once again. I could sympathize! I didn’t want to be there either. But forcing us both to do some exercise is a good thing. I remember back to the day when I was running 4 hours a week! Now I’m getting in 20 minutes…still, I guess it’s something.

On a side note, I’ve joined the local triathlon club! The running clubs are in short supply up in Fort Mac, so I’m starting with the next best thing. My first swim was on Tuesday. Here’s hoping for some group runs with people (and not just a woebegone pup) in my near future!

Spiceless

If variety is the spice of life, I’m beginning to feel like my running is a plain baked potato with no added salt. Most of my running is in the morning before work, which is the best time I can fit it in, since afternoon/evening running is usually synonymous with staying home on the couch in my world. So because I’m stuck to running in the morning, my options of creativity are limited by the following for most of my runs:

-30 minutes total time from warm-up to cool down

-Brizzy

There are no nearby hills and not a lot of really good running routes. I miss the days where I lived next door to the extensive river pathways of Calgary! But more than anything, I miss my running buddies! Any running buddies! The four-legged one I have now just isn’t the best conversationalist.

There is one park nearby which takes me about 15 minutes to run through end to end to end to end (it’s a bit like a pinwheel path). So today I ran that route. Twice through. I did my own little pyramid run,  just for something different.

                          5 min – hard effort          5min – hard effort

              5min – moderate effort                         5min – moderate effort

5min – easy effort/warm-up                                          5min – easy effort/cool down

Brizzy rather enjoyed himself off-leash: he would sniff to his little doggy heart’s content and then race after me. By the last 10 minutes, he was sticking pretty close. I clipped him on to the leash for the cool down to remind him of what it means to run on a leash, and he behaved beautifully after being so worn out.

So today I may have added just a tad bit of seasoning to my baked-potato running, but what I really need is to add some hot sauce. If anyone knows of a good hot sauce recipe for running with a dog in a 30min time limit, let me know!

7 minutes

The other day I ran for 7 minutes. It wasn't my intention when I set my alarm clock the night before. In fact, I was planning to have a solid 30 minutes. But I woke up and definitely was not wanting to run. I dragged myself out of bed and outside.
It was FREEZING!!! I knew if I went back inside to add layers I wouldn't get back outside, so I started running to warm myself up. But I just wasn't feeling it. I was tired, I was cold and...weird as it sounds, I actually missed taking the dog for his morning walk! So I turned around, added extra layers, and took out Brizzy for a nice brisk walk instead. We had a great time.
And I'm not sorry I stopped when I did. Some days are like that, and that's okay.

Living the Longer Life

I face a dilemma this week. But first, let me set the stage: From Monday to Thursday I get up at 5.45am with my husband and walk the dog while he leaves for work. I dislike the early starts, but it’s nice to get the dog out and sometimes I even take the little pest for a run. But this week my husband is not working, so now the dilemma: enjoy the deliciousness of sleeping in until 7am, or enjoy the novelty of running without the little rugrat dragging along beside me?

Today I forced myself out of bed to get a solid 30-min run in. It was a lot like my last dog-free run: short, sweet, and easy peasy. But while I may be slower than a slug crawling through honey, at least I have the joy of knowing I am living longer! Not that it’s a motivation or an inspiration to get me out of bed, but it’s an entertaining thought if nothing else.

As I get back to running (slowly) I’m starting to think towards the Future. There’s a 10k race coming up in September. And next year…next year my sister sent me a little earworm. Full triathlon? Which put that little niggle back in my head…when am I going to draw up the courage to get to the elusive, the inspiring, the powerful full marathon. It’s a delightful tickle in my mind, but with one big caveat: where, oh where, am I going to find amazing running/training buddies to help me along that journey? And no, Brizzy is not up for that task! I’d need to adopt a border collie or similar for that.

Easy Forward

When I went paddling down the Grand Canyon river, the guides instructed us on three types of paddling:

Easy Forward – ~50% effort or less. This stroke was meant to maintain energy and was used for flat water and minor rapids.

Forward - ~70% effort. You used a bit more muscle to maneuver  the raft. This was used to propel you through the larger rapids.

Hard Forward – +100% effort. Paddle like there’s no tomorrow or risk being thrown into the icy, churning waters.

I think you could relate running to these three models as well. As such, today was an ‘Easy Forward’. I didn’t run long, I didn’t run hard. And no, I definitely did not run intervals. I took the reluctant pup out to a park and ran for 25min without stopping. There was no Forward or Hard Forward effort to my run. It was easy and fun and short and sweet. Because not every run needs a training goal. Some days, it's about moving forward at an easy pace.

Intervals There, Intervals Here, Intervals Coming Out My Ear

I was very excited to go on a Brizzy-free run on the weekend. Russell promised to walk the dog so I could get a nice distance run in. Okay...distance for me would likely be around 45 minutes at this stage. But the point was, it would be a run without a puppy tugging on the leash or stopping to poop or stopping to smell a bush or just plain stopping because he didn't want to run any more. This run would be all about me.
Until Russell got sick. Then I was left with two choices: run with the dog, or skip the run altogether and just walk the dog.

So I snapped on Brizzy's leash and off we went. I went to one of the nearby parks. It has a little trail that goes around a pond. I estimate the trail loop to be around 600m. Not sooo far, but a decent enough place for intervals.
I admit, I'm a little sick of intervals! They're the easiest type of run to do with a little minion learning to run, but it feels like that's all I do lately.

Nevertheless, off I went. The goal: 5 laps, with 1 lap walking between each for recovery.
Lap 1 - 2:52. Okay, I told myself. Keep all laps UNDER 3:00min.
Lap 2 - 2:49
Lap 3 - 2:48
Lap 4 - 2:48
Lap 5 - 2:47

Woohoo! Sooo happy I pulled it off. I convinced my brain that if I did my last lap in over 2:50 I would have to do a sixth lap. Then the entire way around that last loop I repeated the mantra, "quick arms, quick legs! Quick arms, quick legs!" I put the focus on moving my arms rather than my legs, and it worked beautifully. No Lap 6 for me this time!

Brizzy had had it after Lap 3, and kept nosing me to go home. I'd had it after Lap 3 as well, but I couldn't renege on my promise! Okay, there are plenty of times when I renege on my running promises, but not this time! I jogged home feeling exhausted and triumphant. Brizzy laid down and didn't move the rest of the day.

Simply Short

I've come to appreciate that I like to dedicate 1 hour to a run + 30minutes for post-run necessities (shower, food, etc.). This doesn't mean I actually run for an hour. This means I like at least an hour for warm-up, cool down, walking breaks, etc.
I realized that this morning when I got up. I had been planning to go for a run, and then I looked at how much time I had before Russell and I had to leave for another engagement...1 hour and 15 minutes. So if I needed the full 30minutes for post-run necessities, that left 45 minutes for the actual run.
Hmm, I told myself. That's not a lot of time. And then I told myself, don't be silly! Just go out and do something short.
So I got myself and the dog up and ready and off we went. I admit, it was a bit disappointing. I allotted myself 20 minutes of running time. Then there's warm-up, cool-down, dog-poop-pick-up, and dog-being-bratty time added onto the list. We made the 20 minutes. It wasn't fast, it wasn't a tough work-out. I didn't have any real sense of I DID IT. But some days, that's the way the cookie crumbles. Mmmh...cookies! Time for some cookie dough.

To Mom, Love Brizzy

A letter from Brizzy (translated from Bark and possibly slightly anthropomorphized):

Dear Mom,

You’re weird. What is it with this ‘Jog’ command? You go too fast for me to sniff all the p-mail in the neighbourhood and too slow to really stretch the legs. You don’t chase balls. You don’t even chase birds. And then you start telling me numbers. “3 more minutes, then you can have a sniff break.” I’m a dog mom! Numbers don’t exist. Unless I’m counting how many treats you give me. You may not believe me, but it’s true. I count treats every time you give them to me and they number Not Enough.

But back to this Jog business. I don’t think you really know what you’re doing. You make it so complicated. Let me simplify it for you:

Chase the bird! Chase the ball! Chase the ----oooooh! Why hello to you too, 3 year old Bailey. Thank you for the p-mail. Allow me to respond in kind.

Don’t feel too bad, Mom. Just follow me and I’ll show you how it’s done. Try to keep up, please. And throw more balls. They’re motivating!

Love,

Brizzy

Healthy-ish

Another sprint interval day. The ground was wet, but the heart (and dog) were both willing. I structured it more this time: 10x 1min sprints with a 1min break between I sort of wish I lived near a hilly park! I do love my hills. I didn’t time myself, I didn’t try to ensure my last sprint was as fast as my first sprint. It was about giving me and my pup some fitness challenges in the morning. Note to self: my back is getting worse in terms of tightness, but my pants haven’t shrunk any more. I should probably lay off the cookie dough, though. It couldn’t hurt to add some healthy-ish eating to my running regime, right?

Stop Stopping

Run #2 had a simple goal: 30 minutes without stopping for a walk break. I brought a stopwatch, but not my Garmin. Which meant I could track my time but not my pace. I set off to explore the community. I wandered here, wandered there, ran around a park, ran around it again. Ran around the community and somehow found myself at the same park again, so ran it a third time. It wasn’t a riveting run. It wasn’t a strenuous run. It was just a run. I can’t remember the last time I’ve run 30 minutes non-stop! I know my pace slowed as my lack of fitness took over. I’m sure if I had tracked my distance I would shake my head in self-disdain at my slowness. But that’s all negative self- talk. On the positive side; I ran for 30 minutes. Even when I got tired, even when I got bored, even when I wanted to stop. I ran. For that I would like to thank all my amazingly fit Facebook friends. After seeing so many goals achieved and races run, I was starting to feel that I was missing out on life and just reading it through other people’s lives. I kept seeing pics of people going for a bike ride and thought, “I’d like to do that.” And others showing off their hard-earned finishers medals and thought “I’d like to do that, too.” And then I thought, “well, why aren’t I doing that? What’s stopping me?” The answer was simple: me. I was stopping myself. So now it’s time to stop stopping myself. Easier said than done.

The First "Mrs" Run

In the past couple of months I’ve quit my amazing job, gotten married, moved to a new city, and started a new job. Now, I’m not saying the word ‘excuses’ but I might think it loudly to myself! But despite the lack of running in my routine, I happened to be a very lucky bride! Between a decreased appetite from stress, weight-lifting twice a week with one of my awesome bridesmaids, and walking an energetic dog, I was a bride that somehow lost weight before the wedding without really going to any effort. Every time I put on my work pants I found I had magically shrunk a little bit more. I say this easily from behind my computer screen where no one can claw my eyes out from jealousy.

But then the honeymoon came, and the loneliness of moving to a city where I knew nobody, and my new husband was working crazy hours, and I didn’t have any workout buddies and…well, let’s just say I may never again be at the size I was on my wedding day. And I’m okay with that! But that doesn’t mean I want to lose all the valuable gains I’ve made the past few months. So, a tightening of pants combined with a rather stiff and painful back made me decide it was time to reinitiate my running.

How I miss running with buddies! But running groups in Fort Mac seem hard to come by, so I decided to start with the easiest running buddy I had available: Brizzy.

We started in one of those ‘unofficial’ off-leash parks near the house. I went out there with no watch, no set plan. Actually, I wasn’t planning to run at all when I stepped outside. But I found myself in my running clothes and just thought, why not? I decided on sprint intervals. I picked a bush in the distance and rant to it, then walked to recover. After a minute or so I picked another bush and ran to that one. My goal was not to achieve a disciplined training session. My goal was just to run. Run for the cost-effectiveness of not buying new pants, and run for the health benefits of mobilizing my back. Brizzy, of course, ran right with me joyfully. Okay, he trotted beside me wondering why his poor human was lurching around so slowly, but he seemed proud that I was joining him in one of his favourite activities, even if I wasn’t chasing a ball.

Teach a Dog to Run

Day 3. (Yes, I'm aware I missed blogging about Day 2!)
We're slowly progressing. Today we ran 3x 10 minutes. The first 3 minutes in were a disaster. Brizzy was so over-joyed at being out running he was leaping and biting and tugging at his leash in his exuberance. Running is not for the exuberant! At least, it's not for exuberant dogs.
But after the first three minutes he really settled in. I was glad there weren't too many other runners out in the morning, as I was constantly saying, "Good jog, Brizzy! Good jog." Sometimes followed by "No!" and "Drop it!".
I think he's starting to get the concept, and we had a nice run after those first few minutes of frustration on both sides.

I still take 3 minute breaks in between my running sets to let him sniff and do doggy things. We're progressing fairly well, and my next step may be to move to 2x 15 minutes. I admit I'm also enjoying it more and more. The only thing that is still hard on me is how cold it is. I learned to run in the heat of Brisbane, and I really miss it on these cold Calgary days. This morning my thermometer read -2C. Brrr! I know some runners who thrive on cold weather running (and wouldn't even call this 'cold'). But I prefer my balmy 15C+. Bring on summer!

"Jog!"

This is it. Day 1 of officially teaching the pup how to run with me. As in really run with me. Right now he thinks running = bite on the leash and wrestle it in exuberance. Or chasing things. Like a ball or a rabbit. Or running away because he knows I saw he has a sock in his mouth and darned if he’s going to give such a delectable delight up so easily!

This morning I brought with me a pocket full of treats. We started with a nice easy walk, then I gave the command “Jog!” and set off. Having never heard that command from me before, I wasn’t expecting much.

I broke down the run into 3x 5 minutes, allowing walk breaks in between for him to be a dog and sniff out the p-mail. While Brizzy has boundless energy, normally he associates running with chasing things, or play, and has not had much opportunity in trotting beside me on a short leash. The first 5 minutes were a disaster, with me constantly saying, “No!” and making various loud angry noises to interrupt his violent mauling of the leash. Then we’d stop, I’d make him sit, say “Jog!”, and off we’d go. At least for another 2 seconds before the whole thing started again.

 "Yes, Mom! I'd LOVE to come for a run! I'm vibrating with energy at the thought!"

The second 5 minutes were much better! We got through the entire thing without a hitch, and it gave me hope. He was bright and attentive. It might have helped that I had shown him the treats in my hand and was occasionally reaching down to give him a little treat as we ran.

False hope. The third set of 5 minutes proved too much, between rabbits and other dogs and the tempting leash dangling before his mouth, I can’t say I got any quality running in. But here’s hoping I’ll make a running dog out of him yet! With all the energy he has, I’m seeing some 5k’s coming down the pipes. But not tomorrow, and not next week. I didn’t learn to run 5k in one go, so I can’t exactly have the same expectations for him.

Still, I have the warm fuzzy feeling that this is going to be the start of a beautiful new running friendship. Kind of like the feeling I get when I buy a new pair of running shoes.