Grape Soda, Isaac Newton, and Confession

Hello. My name is Barry. And I have an advertising problem.

It's true. I sometimes buy products I know are not right for me simply because the advertising is pure marketing GENIUS.

Take, for example, the time that I was pumping gas and there was a grape soda ad on the gas pump. It was a picture of an open ice chest, full of ice and cans of sweet delicious grape soda. At that moment, I decided that nothing would taste better than a grape soda, and I HAD TO HAVE ONE. Luckily, I was at a gas station, and therefore went directly into the store and purchased one. It only took one drink for me to decide I had been duped. But not willing to admit my mistake, and not one to throw away something I just paid for, I stubbornly finished the grape soda . . . which left me with a stomach ache, a purple tongue, and a sugar high fructose corn syrup high. Now every time I see an advertisement and suggest that whatever is being advertised looks cool, my wife will sarcastically say, "MMMMMMM, grape soda!"

My latest fall to the lure of advertising came a couple of weeks ago. After lots of marketing at Ironman events and in magazines, I decided that the Newton Running shoes looked like they could be just the thing to make me a super fast runner. Craig Alexander runs in them, and he just won in Kona, so they MUST be good, right!? I asked Lindsay about them, and she quickly said they were not right for me. Now, I know that she knows more about running shoes than I. And I know that she knows my running style better than I. And I know that she knows what is and is not the right thing for me to do/wear/have/try/eat/drink/etc. in training than I. But come on, Craig Alexander wears them!! And their website is really cool!! So the Saturday after Christmas, I ran in a pair of Newtons. And they felt GREAT!!!

. . . for about 3 miles. Then my calves started getting tight. And my ankles got tired. And my arches started hurting. In the span of about a quarter mile, I went from "Wow these are GREAT!" to "HOLY CRAP! What have I done!?" I only "ran" 6 miles that day. My only thought at that point was "Lindsay is going to kill me!" I couldn't wait to see what type of torturous intervals she would put me through to teach me not to blow her off again. No problem. Lindsay's out of town for the holidays. I can recover from this before she gets back. No more running in the Newtons until I have the time to adjust to them. Eight weeks out from a marathon is not that time!

The following Monday, I could barely walk because of the pain in my lower legs. Every single muscle from about mid-calf to the tips of my toes was screaming at me every time I took a step. Tuesday was a little better, so I laced up my normal running shoes and headed out the door. I made it 1.6 miles. Turned around. And walked home.

I felt fine on the bike, so I went on several long bike rides the rest of the week. Then Saturday, a full week after my little experiment, I went out for a long run. It was the most painful 12 miles of my life (it was supposed to be 16!).

I'm feeling better now after having confessed my sins to Lindsay, and running easy, massage, and stretching yesterday. Today is MUCH better. I actually think I will recover in time to get in a solid 2 hour run this weekend. We'll see. First, Lindsay prescribed the "someday you will listen to me" intervals for tomorrow morning. They are going to be tough on my sore, tired legs. Better take a Fuel Belt with me! Those look really cool! And Craig Alexander uses them! Sweet.