Customized Nike Running Shoes - Perfect for Boston Marathon

I am digging the Nike customizable shoes!

These are in our wedding colors (although the colors looked much less 80s throw up with the flowers and candles).

I want I need I have to have!!! Wait ... that doesn't match my New Year's resolution "be financially fit." Ah to dream...

Best post-run snack

Another Monday, another Lululemon fun run. Tonight's was a great run up to the Presidio and then down along the water - my running buddy and I talked dreams, goals, and where we want to be in 5-10 years. He promised me in 5 years he'd be rich and famous - I said I wanted to pre-order 5 stocks gratis.

Back home after the run I was greeted by an awesome dinner from chef-hub-es-Matt - chicken, salad, and sweet potato - yum! But after dinner came my real favorite post-run treat - gummy bears and pretzels - delicious! Seriously, I think you can't make a better snack than that combo ... unless maybe you dipped the pretzels and gummies in chocolate?...

The nerve of that perve!

My IT band is hurting again so I opted for the gym today instead of a run. Tom Petty blasting through my iPod, trash magazine in hand, I was perfectly oblivious walking down the street (the music and mag didn't make this walk any different - normally when I'm walking around on my own I'm not paying much attention to the passers by). Out of the corner of my eye I saw a man stop, look, then smile. Having just blown someone off yesterday (I was on a run and some guy stopped smiled and waved - after I kept running 10-steps past I heard "Amber Taylor! Amber Taylor!" Turns out he was one of the usuals from the Lululemon run group) and not wanting to be rude again, I stopped, turned, and smiled. What I saw made me want to puke. The guy looked me up and down like a lamb chop, then stared right at my no-no-zone smiling a huge dirty grin.

WTH!

Pervy pants pervy pants keep your eyes to yourself!

Needless to say, I shook my head, turned, and walked on - quicker this time than before.

Trying to motivate: Top reasons to run

I worked from home today which means it's 4pm and I'm on the couch still in my PJs (but I have been very productive - think new SEO strategy, customer reference program referrals, touchpoint analysis ... you get the idea). Since I've gotten into and stayed in cozy mode, rallying for a run is extremely difficult.

My first rally attempt? Runner's World "101 Kicks in the Butt."

Top three "kicks"?
1. CREATE A BLOG where you post your daily mileage, then give out the Web address to your friends and family.

Hah! Done.

2. MAMA, GET A NEW PAIR OF SHOES. Two-time Olympian Shayne Culpepper puts new gear she receives as an elite athlete to good use. "It's fun to break in a new pair of shoes," she says. "Sometimes that's enough to get me excited."
Do Jimmy Choos count? I think Matt would say "no."

3. RUNNING COMMENTARY "Running is a big question mark that's there each and every day. It asks you, 'Are you going to be a wimp, or are you going to be strong today?'" --Peter Maher, two-time Olympic marathoner from Canada

I'm working hard on this one.

OK, off I go!

Running article: "Running on the Shoulders of Giants"

(image from RunningTimes.com)

Sometimes when I'm trying to motivate for a run I browse running magazines - online pubs are great because while I subscribe to Runner's World, I can't afford to subscribe to all the mags I love.

Today on RunningTimes.com "Running on the Shoulders of Giants" is headlining chronicling one runner's ongoing proximity to and inspiration from "the great" distance runners of our time.

Reading the magazine I thought to my groups - GGRC, PacWest, and the Lululemon running group - there are a smattering of "new" runners, some incredible distance runners (some I think are nuts for the distances they trek), and all incredible runners. I think I get to run with the great runners of time, too. They may not grace the covers of magazines or be showcased in posters (actually, the head of PacWest is postered all over San Francisco (well deserved) but you get my drift), but they are the greats who lace up and head out to run.

The article goes on to suggest some recovery and training tips which are always useful - sometimes you know how to recover or train but you need to actually be reminded of how to do it.

Love at first click - Tretorn

As a marketer I'm always looking at "cool" websites and branding techniques. Today when I was site surfing ... OK, I admit, online shopping, I dove a little deeper into the Tretorn site and love it! I guess it helps that I love the goods, too.

Check it out: http://www.tretorn.com/

I'm impressed that they were able to work the almost fully flash based site work in Firefox as well as IE - kudos Tretorn. There are a few floopy design things (like dropdown overlay problems) and the online store not really aligning with the online flash site (no women's clothes on the flash site), but hey, no-one is perfect.

Goods I'm loving today? The Svea Patent W - perfect for post-run comfort - and the Mane sunglasses - hands down, best shades for the city - they're stylish but not duchey.

Race lineup

There are so many great races coming up this year - I can't wait! Here's a list of some local fun goodies (you can find more on runnersworld.com, active.com, the PCTR website, or the Envirosports website):

• 1/4/09 Lake Merced 4.5 M
• 1/11/09 PCTR Angel Island Trail Run (I heard that all the trails are finally re-opened - yay! I'm planning on doing this one for my first trail race of '09)
• 1/17/09 PCTR Pacifica 9K, 21K, 30K, 50K
  
• 1/18/09 Waterfront 10M
• 2/1/09 Kaiser half marathon (I'm planning on doing this with Linz and Brett)
  
• 1/25/09 Windmill 10K
• 2/7/09 PCTR Woodside 10K, 17K, 35K, 50K (another breathtaking view)
  
• 2/22/09 Embarcadero 10K
• 3/7/09 Envirosports Marin Trails 10K, 20K
• 3/17/09 Envirosports Romancing the Island 12k, 25K
  
• 3/21/09 Pirates Cove 8K, 20K, 30K, 50K
  
• 3/22/09 Fort Point 12K
• 4/5/09 Golden Gate Park 10k
• 4/11/09 Muir Woods 25K (this is a gorgeous race!)
• 4/19/09 Marin County Marathon and half (GOTR and Marathon Matt teamed up to do a training program for this one which is excellent)
• 4/20/09 Boston Marathon (I'm signed up and CAN'T WAIT!!!)
  
• 5/17/09 ING Bay to Breakers 12K (I'm already working on my costume)
• 7/19/09 Napa to Sonoma Half Marathon (Linz and I did this in it's inagural year and have been running almost ever race since)