Tools of the Trade

Two things of note in regards to training supplies:

I talked to my Dad today. The bike I ride is pretty much a mountain bike - T-handle bars, thicker wheels, etc. There is a road bike at my parents house (3000 miles away) that isn't being used. I know said road bike is a decent size for me, as I've ridden it before. I asked my Dad if he might be willing to bring the bike out when he drives here for a visit (and the 5K!) in a few weeks. The bike appears to be in good order, and I think it's going to end up coming out here! It'll be exciting to have a different style of bike to switch between for training, and I think the road bike will be a bit of a faster ride. We'll see.

I have a tiny bit of extra money floating around, and I there are various things I have been thinking of investing in to make training easier and more efficient. I'll be getting fenders for the bike fairly soon, but I decided that the most important thing would be to get new running shoes. The shoes I've been running in are well over a year old, well used, and TOO SMALL. I feel the front of the shoe against my toes when I walk - not good. (I don't know what I was thinking when I tried them on initially, although I know it wasn't that I would end up running in them). I definitely wanted shoes that fit, and the local New Balance store was having a sale, so I went. I talked to the lady there, she measured my foot and brought me a couple pairs of shoes to try on. The first pair was okay - fairly comfortable. They felt good when I jumped around in them, maybe just a bit loose in the heel.
I tried on the second pair, and was *really* impressed. They didn't feel quite as long as the first pair, but definitely had plenty of room for my toes. They seemed a bit wider, which is great since my feet are on the slightly wider side. The more I jumped around in them, the better I felt about them. Happy feet! I tried the two shoes on together, and that convinced me even more.
So yeah, I have new shoes to run in. Whoot!