Drinking Kool-Aid?

Everything familiar has disappeared.  Once in awhile, I'm thrown for a loop.

Nearly every Sunday I go out for a long run.  When the mileage starts getting longer, I start packing some Gu.  For 16k and longer, I liked to start consuming them at the rate of 1 every 5 miles.  I felt stronger for having taken them, so I was pretty sure I was on the right track.

But a few weeks ago, I'm out for a 18 miler.  Sue had come out with me, and I remarked that she wasn't packing any gels, but I would give her one of mine.  She responded a bit hesitantly, but said, if she needed it, she'd let me know.  By the end of the run, she hadn't.  So I asked her why she's not taking any.  She said, John had told her that for our LSD runs, we shouldn't be needing them.  This was confirmed by him later.  He said, by taking them, we stand a good chance of upsetting our stomachs etc.  Although he did agree, we need them for racing.

Now at our last clinic run, he wants us running more efficiently.  He said we should all get some "lightweight racing flats"  He said they offer minimal support and promote landing on the mid or ball of our feet.  He spoke about running with our normal shoes we are braking every time we strike with our heels and further, the motion control weakens our natural gait.

Sharon and I went to Forerunners to look for some racing flats.  They had a bunch of Nike, 2 Asics, and 2 Mizunos.  Price range was $110-150... not exactly "cheap".  I really liked the look of the Nike... neon green, but they didn't feel nice.  The Asics felt great, but looked too similar to my normal running shoes.  I ended up buying some flashy Mizunos for $109 (or 119??).  They fit nearly as well as the Asics but looked cooler... and as you know, I'm all about image.

Last week's 20 miler, I took in 2 gels, down from my regular of 4.  I'll be doing another 20 miles tomorrow.  I'm not nervous about dropping down to 1.  What has me a little anxious is converting to the new running style.  While I heard of Chi running, I just took that the heel strike was better at reducing injury.  It gives me an unsettling feeling that what I thought was right... wasn't.

"With most men, unbelief in one thing springs from blind belief in another."- Georg Christoph Lichtenberg