Since I'm off work finding time to run is held back as expected. Likely a good thing however still a hassle. I'm back to being tied to kids between 6am and 8pm Monday thru Friday at the very least. Those fantastic run commutes to and from work aren't happening which sucks. They really boosted my weekly mileage and also allowed me to keep to a regular sleep schedule for the most part. Now I'm back to tip toeing around in the early hours racing to be back on time or worrying about getting angry looks as I slip out the door once the kids are in bed, both situations compromising sleep. No work commute and limited free time is likely good though because it will hold me back from doing too much too soon coming back from injury.

I recently committed some money to a new pair of shoes. I've been a long time fan of the shape of Altra shoes but most recently had been running in a pair of Hoka Clifton 6. I ended up really liking the boat load of cushioning in the Hoka however the shape just wasn't nearly as nice for me as the Altra. I wanted to combine the two shoes, obviously that's impossible, however Altra have a shoe I tried on last year called the Duo 1.5. It was a fairly soft, flexible, maximal cushioned shoe, with the Altra foot shaped toe box. It has a very minimal upper so was very light too. I liked the sample size when I tried it on and it peaked my interest. Unfortunately Altra UK never imported it so I didn't have access to it.

I had intentions of finding them in the US when I was home for a visit but that never happened, just too busy as always. After a recent eBay search I found out they were brought in to Spain, possibly all of Europe, just not the UK. I ordered a pair from a store outside of Barcelona. They didn't cost much more than a normal pair of shoes and had free shipping. Kind of a gamble not having ever tried them but I figured worth the risk.

I've only been out once in them as they arrived yesterday, and only a short 3 + miler, but so far so good. Reviews I read people complained about the paper thin upper and tongue. The thin heel wrap "cut into my achilles," and " "the tongue kept bunching up when I put them on"  were common complaints. The tongue I agree with 100%, it's really thin, but if you take a moment to get it lined up correctly when you put your shoes on it's no big deal, patience, do it right. The heel wrap was a bit noticeable at first but after messing with the lacing tightness my heel locked in nicely to the heel pocket and I had no issues. I normally wear my shoes fairly loose and with very little padding around the heel/achilles some people will not get along with these. I do prefer to wear crew length socks which provide a bit more coverage too. Obviously 3 miles is no true test but so far so good. I'm excited to get out in them more!

Read an article about a guy who has been running a marathon a day for a long time with no intent of stopping. I'd LOVE to have time to do that! He's got mental illness and it helps him a lot so I don't want to say "must be nice" and get all jealous, but I dream of being able to run for four hours day. Time. There is time to do things like this. I have the time to do this. But, holy shit would I be grumpy due to lack of sleep!

Anyway, just chuggin' along trying to keep happy.