Where did my day go? Plus, why my new shoes look almost exactly like my old shoes.

This was one of those days where, at the end, I thought, "What the hell?"

I ran errands for a couple hours (!) this morning -- boring insurance stuff, quarters for laundry at the bank and new running shoes. I ate lunch when I got home and started a couple loads of laundry and got to work cleaning my apartment. I watched Degrassi at 5 before I realized that I had somehow spent an entire day doing absolutely nothing enjoyable or fun. Ever done this? Sure my apartment and dishes are clean, but ...

So, anyway, about my new shoes: my previous shoes have been discontinued, so I was forced to buy the new model. They don't have the same support structure -- which I desperately need for my weak-ass legs and IT Bands -- but they pretty much look the same, which is more important to me than you'd think. The salesman had me try on another couple brands, and was sort of pushing me on them. He seemed sort of disappointed when I bought essentially the same pair of shoes. I'm not sure why.

Cassie asked me on the phone tonight if I'm superstitious about my running routine, etc. I'm really not, it's just that I feel like I've got a good formula and I don't want to screw it up. I'm cautious about what I eat and haven't introduced anything new into my diet. And I feel more comfortable wearing shoes that look almost exactly like the ones I've wore since November.

Much of this training has been psychological rather than physical. Sure, there's mental toughness I need to run the distances and make sure I'm training and eating right. But there's also a comfort-level I've created with my routine, my gear and my food that I'm scared to death of monkeying with. Know what I mean?

Today: 40-minute run
Tomorrow: 5-mile tempo run in Olympia