Thanks for the well wishes. I was able to get an appointment at 2:30 today and everything appears to be fine. I won't bore you with the details of my diagnosis, but it's not a hernia and should clear up within a week or so. On the one hand, I feel incredibly sheepish about going to the doctor for something that is apparently not a huge issue. On the other hand, I am relieved that it doesn't appear to be anything serious or even something that would have adversely affected my training schedule. I'm not much of a hypochondriac, so having anything that makes me feel like I need to see the doctor gets me pretty nervous. I am glad that this appears to have been a false alarm.
On to the semi-exciting news of the day...New shoes!
I have always worn the Asics Gel-Noosa line since I started running. They are nominally designed for running portion of triathlons; but running is running and, this is the most important point, they were colorful and looked cool. I have run in them since the 7 and am currently on my third pair of 10s. It has been a marriage of both convenience (they looked cool and I wanted them) and practicality (I've never had any serious blister, foot, or leg issues in 5 years). Because I am a treadmill runner I haven't worn through shoes as quickly as many people do, so I have never really strayed from the Gel-Noosa's. I've tried a couple of Nike Flyknit models, but they squeeze my forefoot when I wear socks, so they were transitioned quickly to casual shoes. I've also tried a pair of Adidas with Boost foam. I like them, but they aren't anything special.
Since I am trying to transition to more outdoor miles and am focused on running a little slower during a majority of my training mileage, I was looking for something with the same profile as my Noosa's, but a little bouncier and a with a little more cushion. I am hoping I have found the right combination with the Asics Dynaflyte. Here are a couple pics, including a paw of a confused dog.
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I am really looking forward to getting out in them tomorrow (I put in 5 nervous miles earlier today while waiting to go to the doctor), but so far they have passed the "running back and forth in my kitchen and living room" test. It's usually pretty foolproof. The Dynaflytes have a little more cushioning in the heel and forefoot, which gives them a heel-toe drop of 8mm vs. 10mm in my Noosa's. My Noosa 10's are 9.9 ounces and the 11's (still have yet to get my first pair) are 9.4 ounces vs. 9.3 on the Dynaflyte so they are really quite similar. Not sure if they'll totally replace my Noosa's, but this is the most promising new shoe I've tried in a while. They are also the first pair I've bought at full retail in a while, but since they are one of Asics first offerings with their FlyteFoam technology I didn't know how long I might have to wait. They perfectly fit what I was looking for so I splurged. Hopefully they will prove to be worth it.