Last Place Runner

The first phase of my challenge is over. I did not lose an ounce. But, strangely enough, I lost three inches from around my middle. I know that’s what I should care about. THE NUMBERS ON THE SCALE DON’T MATTER, they say. But kind of they do and you know it.

I was out of town last weekend, so I went with my mom to one of my very favorite places ever. It’s a drug store, but the entire store is devoted to my favorite aisles of the grocery store: health and beauty. This place carries essential oils, high-quality supplements, hard-to-find brands of shampoo and row upon row of kitschy drug store stuff. When I was itty bitty, my mother worked in a local pharmacy (that was much later used as a setting for a well-known film about a simple-minded killer), and I have always loved the way certain places like that have the deep, waxy smell of lipstick mingling with the sterile plastic scent of bandages. The place I went to last weekend does it for me. Although I hadn’t been there in 15-20 years, the place could still satisfy the itch I didn’t know I had.

One thing I couldn’t get over was the selection of protein shake powder and meal replacement shakes. I don’t know if that kind of thing has always been available in that store, because I just started using protein/meal replacement shakes (sparingly) about a year ago. They good ones can run to the expensive side and I usually make my decisions about shakes based on calories, protein, and carbs. I had never even considered that there were as many types of protein powder as I saw at that store last weekend. I ended up buying four little sample packets of a brand called Spirutein. This morning, being in the challenge phase where I can have a meal replacement shake, I tried the red velvet mix I bought last weekend.

I always make my protein shakes with unsweetened vanilla almond milk, ice and a little bit of water in the blender. The red velvet Spirutein had a very chocolaty scent and it blended up a nice red velvet color. The texture was perfect. In reviews of Spirutein I’d read online after buying my samples, I’d seen a lot of people complain about a bad aftertaste. I didn’t notice it with the red velvet shake. It tasted OK, but it was not what I would call delicious. And I think the GNC Lean Shake in Rich Chocolate is delicious. I am also a big fan of Advocare’s chocolate mocha and berry meal replacement shakes. The red velvet Spirutein was just OK, but I won’t be buying a canister.

I still have three others to try, and because I’ll be out of town much of this coming week, I will probably bring the packets with me to make a quick breakfast.

Another thing that happened this week: I have really wanted to try a pair of Altra Running Shoes for the longest time. Good running shoes, like good protein powders, are expensive. I don’t object to that at all. I just couldn’t justify a new $100+ pair of running shoes while I’ve still got two pairs of Brooks Adrenaline with plenty of miles left in them.

But this week, Altra announced a sale on their Facebook page. The Intuition 2.0 was on clearance for $49. I didn’t hesitate at all. I went to their website to order and, although I can pretty well wear any shoe in a 6 or 7, Altra’s website had a great tool for helping determine your size in the shoe you want to buy. You select the size, make and model of the shoe you have now and it tells you the size you will need in their shoe. It also tells you how their shoe will feel different compared to what you’re wearing now. So I ordered a green and white pair.

Then, a little later in the day, I talked myself into a second pair. My thinking was, well, what if I just LOVE these shoes? So I snatched up a blue pair, too, and still came out ahead if I had bought one pair at regular price. If I don’t love them for running, I will still have my two pairs of Brooks and I can wear the Altras for my workouts with my trainer.

Nothing beats a proper fitting from your local running store, though. Shoes make a big, huge difference to a runner. Without the right shoes, you could end up injured. And that concludes my public-service announcement.

Lastly, I’m a beekeeper and we have to check our hives today to make sure nobody’s honey bound. It has rained and rained so much for so long, I’m not sure how the honey production will go this year. But it’s finally drying out and warming up. We will be gone several days this week, so we have to do a hive inspection today to make sure we won’t leave our bees in a tight spot while we’re gone. I can tell by glancing out the window that the sun is already relentless and it’s only 9 in the morning. So I better get to it so I don’t die of a heat stroke in my bee suit.