La Sportiva is OK

In March, I picked up a new pair of shoes: La Sportiva Lynx. At first, I wasn't so sure about them, but eventually, they really grew on me. They become my go to shoe for all my short trail runs. I even did some speed work in them, and was really liking the way they felt. Until they fell apart.

At around 150 miles, I started to get a tear in the outside of left shoe in the toe box. Soon thereafter, the same started in the right shoe. Eventually, I had big hole in the left shoe and tears in both. Additionally, the laces started to fray.



At only 150 miles, I was pretty disappointed. By the time I hit 190 miles, I decided to email La Sportiva. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I received a response a day or so later. Normally, they handle returns directly through the store, but it wasn't convenient for me to back there for a return. So, they sent me a return authorization number, and I sent them back directly to La Sportiva. About 3 days after they received the shoes, I received word that the warranty department had reviewed my shoes, and they determined that the damage was covered by warranty. They are sending me a new pair.

So, the good news is that La Spotiva has solid customer service. I appreciated the prompt emails and willingness to replace my shoes. However, I don't know how much running I'm planning to do in this new pair. I really don't want them to blow out again. Plus, now that I've found the Brooks Cascadias, why would I stray? So, in short, La Sportiva is OK.

As for specific running news, I did a short, easy run on Thursday and felt appropriately creaky. It was my first run since the Bruiser, so I wasn't expecting much. That's what I got.

On Friday, I had a doctor's appointment to begin solving the mystery. She thought that anemia was a possibility, but I'm not showing any otuward signs. I explained to her that I'd probably never notice if I was running 2 or 3 miles, 2 or 3 times a week, but I have loftier goals than that. With that statement, she agreed that it was worth exploring further. I'm headed to the lab on Monday to get some blood drawn. She also hooked me up to an EKG to check my heart. To non one's surprise, my heart is fine. That being said, the nurse did hook up a ton of sticky nodes to various parts of my anatomy. I was worried that it was going to end up like this:



I did drop the "man-o-lantern" line. Thankfully, the nurse got it. And, more thankfully, the nodes came off fairly painlessly.

I also got a flu shot while I was there. Highly recommended with the baby arriving during flu season. As a result, I've felt like absolute boo boo all day. **grumble**