Three physical therapy sessions today with Rose. They are spaced out evenly -- morning, late morning, and early afternoon, so I decided this morning to pack my lunch since I wasn't quite sure how the day would play out. In between my morning sessions, I met another lady in my program named Kris. We shared our stories and encouraged each other while we sat and looked out at the town from the 14th floor perspective. She is from Minnesota and turns out that she and her hubby own a cabin on Gold Camp Road near Cripple Creek, Colorado where my daddy lives! Sure is a small world sometimes!
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| View from the 14th Floor between the Mayo Clinic and Gonda Buildings |
After my picnic and a relaxing read under the tree, it was time to get down to business. I have been needing to get a new pair of running shoes for quite some time, but shifting between three pair and telling myself that they aren't too bad. Well, after I told Heath I was having some unexpected knee pain, he insisted that I get a new pair while in Rochester. Honestly, I still wasn't convinced when I went into the store if I would purchase anything because my race is the weekend after I return home. Sometimes switching shoes that close to a race can cause some issues however, I know from experience, Heath is always right. I can choose to make things harder for myself and do it my way or I can try his way first and be overly thrilled with the results.
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| Beautiful Day = PICNIC time! |
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| Then, settled under a nice BIG shade tree. They have an awful lot of those, it is quite amazing! |
The Running Room was one of the two specialty running stores that I found online during my research. It was literally right across from from where I picnic-ed. So, I went in and was greeted by a nice gentleman who was ringing out another customer, so this really nice lady named Kim waited on me. She watched me walk and did a gait analysis to see what type of support I needed in my shoe. This is why I love local running stores because they can help you with this kind of thing that you don't even think about. Kim helped me try on - yep - just about every shoe in the store, in my size! I really had fun and had it narrowed down to a few but wasn't 100% certain yet. I didn't really know what was holding me back, but told her that I'd think about it. Being the wonderful person she is, she said just take a picture of them so you remember which ones you like and even if you don't get them here (she knew I wasn't from here) then you should get new ones because your shoes are super worn down. Ok, we said our goodbyes and I hustled back to my next/last PT appointment for the day.
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| Choice #1 = cushy and amazing but white and will highlight my dirt roads. |
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| Choice #2 = HOKA - cushy and wide toe box but not as soft as the Brooks marshmallow- cloud feel. |
After my last appointment of the day, I headed for this little park that I pass each day on my walk to the Clinic. It is really pretty as it sits right next to this old historical home/museum and they have a bunch of benches, tables, and even a fountain.
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| Sat on a bench to enjoy reading again. Crazy, I know, but good for me to get some R&R! |
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| For the Love By: Jen Hatmaker about offering ourselves G~R~A~C~E! |
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| Water fountain structure in the middle of the park. |
Next line of business, explore the bike trail. Aired up my tires and headed out with intentions on visiting the other local running store called TerraLoco. I looked up directions on my phone before I headed out in that general direction and jotted down the rest of the directions on the palm of my hand. It is a really nice paved trail, more for leisurely biking, so I decided to take my time as there were tons of people out and about enjoying the day. So fun! I love when people are active outside and doing adventures together! It makes my heart happy!
I passed some other bikers/runners/walkers here and there and then pulled over and stopped at a crossing sign (every trail is marked with distance and arrow - fantastic). I knew generally what I was looking for but the bikers I had just passed stopped and asked me if I needed some directions. I wonder how they knew....LOL! They were so nice (and retired) that they had me ride with them until I met up to the road that I needed to be on. It was so fun! Her name was Sue and her hubby and a friend were all out for an evening ride. They said that now they are retired, they are never in a hurry - what a great life lesson! P.S. Their friend was on a recumbent bike which is awesome! They ride together for causes which is super cool! We exchanged email addresses in hopes of connecting to ride some more and parted ways!
I did follow their directions and made it to the running store just as they had suggested. A nice gentleman helped me as I tried on yet again alot of different shoes after a running gait analysis on a treadmill. (They even let me bring my bike into the store so I didn't have to watch it! Other people with similar interests understand the importance of our bikes!)
I had it narrowed down to two shoes, totally different than the others I tried on today - more of a stability shoe which is what I am used to running in, but still not 100% settled. I asked the nice gentleman if there was a triathlon shop around and he said no but there was bike shop just across the parking lot. So, of course since I was so close, I had to visit.
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| Choice #3 = comfy, ok, not stellar but comfy, nice shoe, ok you get the point. |
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| Choice #4 = soft, good support, great heal cup but boring color. Note to self - color shouldn't matter, but it helps |
The bike show guy's name was Patrick and the only reason I remember that is because the guy I work with at the Cheyenne, Wyoming bike shop's name is Patrick also. He helped me find this small part for my bike I needed and gave it to me and put it on for free. Super nice and helpful! I tried to follow the directions from this nice gentleman at the bike store but must have missed my turn onto the trail/path so I ended up going back the same way I came...well mostly. I made a few extra turns and loops and ended up going all the way around Silver Lake before returning safely to my little Home Sweet Away from Home Home. If I hadn't had made those few extra turns in there, I wouldn't have witnessed this beauty. Thank you Lord for Your perfect timing in our story. Please keep reminding me it's all about Your Timing and not mine.
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| Minnesota Sunset with the Canadian Geese |
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