Changes...

Wow!  It has been a long time since I last blogged.  Sorry to all of my 2,000 readers.  I haven't had a whole lot to blog about lately and have been crazy busy so no time even if I wanted to.

Anyway, here is my attempt to catch you up in all things Jonathan.  I'll try to keep it short and sweet too.  Not sure if that will work or not though.

So what have I been up to?  A lot of changes lately, that's what.  So that inspired me to type this blog.  Every time I think of that word, the Tupac song "Changes" automatically pops in my head.  The song really has nothing relevant to my  changes lately, but I love me some Tupac.  So if you are adventurous and feel like listening to a late 90's rap song by Tupac, click here: Tupac - Changes

I have been in a late 90's early 2000's rock/rap/hip-hop/alternative phase lately.  Loving jamming out to some older hits that were popular growing up!

OK, back to the point, sorry...

So the last thing I blogged about was getting Cayden's nursery ready and before that it was about me taking a break from working out/running to try and heal some injuries.  I did just that.  I took almost a full two weeks off.  It was tough, but it felt good.

By the end of last weekend, I felt really good.  My knee wasn't giving me any issues and my ankle/ACL was letting me have full range of motion.  I was pumped!  So ready to get back to the workout routine!  So Sunday night I set my alarm for the dreaded 4:30AM.

Monday morning came; it was tough to get back in the 4:30 groove.  Monday was a strength day, so it went well. Tuesday was the day I was nervous about.  It was my first running day in two weeks.  I woke up, stretched and all that jazz and took off.  I am sad to say that my injuries were not healed.  They didn't hurt as bad as before, but I could tell they were still there despite reducing my distance and not paying attention and pushing my pace.  I was very upset about this!  Anyway, here is what my run stats looked like on Tuesday:

Like I said, I was pretty bummed about my pain coming back so quickly.  So I mulled over and over it and decided that I might need to try a different shoe.  I didn't think that was the problem since I have logged over 70 miles on that pair, but who knows?!?!?  I had to try it to see if it would help or I could rule something else out.  Going way back to early March, I posted about getting a new pair of shoes.  They were Merrell's Barefoot Trail Glove shoes.  I switched to the "minimalist" style of shoe.  I really liked it and thought it felt good.  Here are what the Merrell's look like:

My previous pair of shoes were from 2008 I think, maybe 2009, but I hadn't worn them much for training in.  They are Nike Air Pegasus' I believe and look similar to this with less red:

Quite a difference huh?  

Back to the point (again!)...  So I decided I would try to run in my Nike's for my Thursday run.  I actually liked it!  It was different and my knee still bugged me a bit, but no ACL/ankle pain.  Wahoo!  However, I must say, my feet def are not used to these shoes yet and they were on fire the rest of the day.  I guess the Nike's rub and touch my feet in a lot different way than the Merrell's.  It felt like I was running on a cloud with all the cushion.  However, the downfall was that I could tell it took more effort and energy to run in these.  I know that sounds crazy and silly, but there was a noticeable difference there and it felt like I had to push harder to go the same pace I do with my Merrell's.  I can settle with that though.  Here is how my run shaped up from Thursday morning:

So, those are the changes for now.  I am changing back to my workout routine.  I can't imagine taking more time off! And, at least for now, I am changing my footwear.  Abby thinks I should go get fitted for a new pair of shoes to see if that would help, but I think I will try these a few more times before I do so.  We will see...

Oh yeah, one other thing.  I decided to sign up for a competitive sand volleyball league this summer starting in July. Volleyball used to be a regular part of my life (indoor and outdoor) up until a little more than 2 years ago.  With school and baby, I just didn't have the time.  I am a bit scared to see how the rust will shake off, but I am excited to get the team back together and get out there!

OK, enough of all this now.  Thanks for sticking with if you made it this far.  Until next time blogosphere...