Settling into Plainfield, IL / ASICS GEL KAYANO's

So my last post was Sunday, April 23. Today is Saturday, May 6, 2006. Quite a bit has transpired since my last post. We are officially moved into our new home in Plainfield, IL.

Plainfield is in the 'burbs. I'm not going to make it sound over-sexy. There are seemingly a trillion houses in this suburb and Coporate America is capitalizing upon the explosive growth in this Western Chicago 'burb. You like chains? We've got 'em... Chili's, Applebees, Target, WalMart, Quiznos, Starbucks - & MUCH MORE -- all are less than 0.5 miles from my house.

But we love our new home. I have space here. We moved from 1168 sq ft to 3 -year old house, 2626 sq ft with a nice yard, full basement. Here's the kicker: We paid $63k less for our house than the selling price of our Connecticut condo! Real estate is irrational.

On to my running. I set a goal for the week of April 24 of 20 miles, which I knew would be tough with all of the transitional work that needed be done. Truth is I came up short... 18 miles last week. I'm not going to detail them for you, but there were 4 runs total -- two runs making up 9 miles in Connecticut, one run for 5 miles in Pennsylvania, 4 FAST miles on the countryside in Eastern Ohio on our way to Chicago.

All things considered, not too bad. We were in the car for 950 miles with visits to family and friends in Pittsburgh and Cleveland.

We closed on our house on Monday May 1. There are still quite a number of boxes. But I have been getting out for some short runs this week to keep the legs moving.

Tue - 4
Wed - 4
Thu - 3
Fri - 4
Sat - Yard/house work all day
Sun -- ??? - targeting 7 miles

ASICS GEL KAYANOS
I took a trip up to downtown Naperville (11 miles north) to visit the Naperville Running Co. It is the only specialty run store I could find. For the record, I have been a dedicated Asics GT's man for the past 7+years. Well, with my ambition to kick my running up a notch, I figured I would explore a more advanced shoe. $135 later, I am walking out with the Kayanos. The cushioning felt luxurious and I went for them. I keep you posted on how they peform.

Peace...