Good Bye, Ole Friend.

Those puppies up there have seen a lot.  They are 13-years-old.

Yes.  It's true.

They were purchased in 1997 in Lawrence, Kansas while I was attending the University of Kansas.  I used them to walk to and fro from classes and occasionally hit the pavement for cardiovascular/aerobic reasons.

Fast forward to 2010, they are tired.  And, they don't hesitate to let me know.  I have lost two toe nails numerous times, and the blisters...don't even get me started.

It was time to retire those poor babies and give my feet some relief.

Oh, my toes are happy.  They are in roomy, toe heaven.  Plenty of space to roam and wiggle.

Nice.

Happy toes make it easy to fall back into a running routine.  The plan is 4 mornings a week to pound out at least 3 miles.  So far, so good.  With happy toes, of course.

With the weather cooling down a bit {from the high 90s to the high 80s}, Grant's Trail is my path of choice.
It's super close to our house and oh, so pretty.

You even get to catch the occasional Anheuser-Busch Clydesdale grazing in the clover.  {They're in the distance of the last photo.}

Running along Grant's Farm is good stuff.  I may even go 5 miles tomorrow.

We'll see...