Hello, hello! I’m truly alive and well. The past couple of months have been a complete whirlwind.

Life has been considerably busy, especially with work (!!!), and every weekend is filled with summertime activities or trips. I’m writing this blog post to share a glimpse into some highlights over the past couple of months along with updates on running.

And eating shave ice. Totally random, but very necessary. If you live in Seattle and haven’t eaten at Marination Ma Kai, do it. Do it now. Located in Alki, they have a beautiful view of the Seattle skyline, amazing food (e.g. Loco Moco, fish tacos, musubi, etc.), and an awesome outdoor porch to soak in the sun with a beer.

On the running front, I’m re-kindling my love for pure running, and I don’t have a particular A race on my radar yet (this is perfectly fine by me!). I had a moment recently when I really wanted to sign up for another full marathon by the end of year, but I realized that I just can’t fit in the dedication and commitment to training right now. In the past 2 years, I’ve done four full marathons and nearly 10 halves. I think it’s time to give my body a break. I do look forward to doing a lot of fun running, some shorter distance races, and other exercise activities. I have my sights set on doing a spring marathon next year, so we shall see what happens.

What else is new? I longer have a running coach. I made this decision ultimately based on the lack of commitment that I could dedicate towards race training for now. Since I don’t have a goal race and my schedule is unpredictable, it just didn’t make sense for me, in my opinion, to have a coach. I highly recommend having a running coach to stay accountable and to drive/motivate you, especially during preparation for a goal. Once my next race in the future comes along, I look forward to thinking through how I plan to train.

I also have an awesome running product to share with you. In the past couple of months, I’ve been testing out currexSole Natural Performance Insoles. As someone who has dealt with shin splints and calf tendinitis on top of extremely flat feet (!), the kind folks at currexSole sent me over a pair of their insoles to test out.

Full disclosure: I only received a pair to to test out and review, no other compensation was provided, and I’m sharing my unbiased opinion. Giving the test a couple of months has allowed me to give a true assessment over a longer timeframe.

For some background, currexSole, based in Germany, are natural performance insoles that are designed by sports scientists to increase performance and reduce the risk of injury.

From the website:

currexSoles are your:

• Individualizers, closing the gap between your foot profile and a flat shoe footbed.
• Empowerers and reprogram your movement patterns for maximum performance.
• Supporters and help prevent pain and stress damage to knees, feet and hips.

There are multiple different products designed for different activites from running, extreme sports, everyday work, and exercise. The specific type of insoles that I chose to test were their RUNPRO designed to be light, slightly cushioned with a 10mm drop.

Before getting the pair, I took the currexSole online test to find out which insole profile suited me best. Since I have such flat feet, the Low Profile insoles were profiled for me to be the best fit.

As soon as I opened the box, I could tell that these in-soles were way sturdier than the generic ones that come with my running shoes. Read: I wear Nike Frees! You may laugh, but I have truly flat feet and these are the only shoes that have worked for me. If you find a shoe that works, stick with them unless you find better and get tested at a local running store or sports doc.

However, when I compared to insoles to my feet, I immediately thought that what I was sent was too large. Excuse the foot picture. At least no runners toes (black toenails) to be seen this time around.

I needn’t have worried. What’s awesome is that these insoles are intended to come larger than your foot. It’s then up to you to take your existing generic insoles from your shoe, trace over, and cut off the extra part of the currexSole insoles to fit inside your shoe perfectly. Take a look at what it looks like below. It’s that easy.

I was a little apprehensive that these in-soles might impact my running and give me issues, but I’m happy to report that they are absolutely awesome! I needed no time to break them in, they didn’t cause me any running woes, and best of all — I could tell that I got the right amount of support/sturdiness from these insoles. I haven’t had any issues with tendinitis, aches, pains, etc. since wearing them. They were also lightweight and offered the right amount of cushioning for my flat feet. Verdict? If you’ve written off insoles in the past, thinking that those are only for people whom have really bad feet or leg issues, think again. I recommend trying these out – it’s pretty amazing how I could immediately notice the difference.

I also haven’t tested out running again without them in, switched back to the generic ones that came with the shoes, and I don’t plan to for now. It makes sense to me – the generic insoles that come with your shoes may not be the perfect ones designed for your foot and running type?

What I also like is that the insoles aren’t ridiculously expensive (~$50) compared to other insoles on the market or orthotics. I plan on purchasing them for additional running shoes. You may purchase them on the currexSole website, Amazon, or find a local running store that carries them on their Store Locator. Hope that this was helpful!

Back to my own running adventures: over the past couple of months, I’ve enjoyed taking in the beautiful summer sights in Seattle and on some travels. Here are some seen-from-my-run pictures from some of my favorite runs including in Daytona Beach, along Lake Union Seattle, Vancouver, BC, and Victoria, BC.

Aside from running, I’ve purchased a new road bike!! My husband had back surgery a few months ago and can now get back into regular exercising. He shouldn’t be doing high-impact activities like running yet, but can go biking.

I’ve always wanted to get into cycling and have dabbled in a road bike in the past. It was a mistake purchasing a used road bike from Craigslist. Not only was the frame a little too large for me, it was just overall uncomfortable. I quickly sold that back and didn’t try cycling for a while.

I didn’t grow up riding road bikes, so there’s definitely a steep learning curve for me to get comfortable. I’m happy to report that my new shiny Cannondale Synapse is perfect for me. I’ve gone on several rides with Joe and each one makes me feel much more accomplished and confident. Does anyone else get extremely terrified going fast downhill? Is it just me? Because I start sweating and gripping my handlebars and brakes like crazy. This isn’t good, but I’m getting more comfortable.

Let’s see, what else on the running front? Oh! I joined my lovely Oiselle teammates of Little Wing on a sponsored Fleet Feet store run. It was extremely fun running as a large group and meeting others in the local running community. I’ve also joined the Seattle Green Lake Running Group group on Facebook and look forward to joining some group runs in the near future.

Rira and I cowbelled our hearts out at the end of June at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Seattle Marathon and Half Marathon. That was extremely fun! I live in South Lake Union so a mere couple of blocks from mile 26, so I’ve been making it a tradition to cheer near the finish.

Heads up – Oiselle #birdcamp is happening in just a couple of weeks in Bend, Oregon. So stoked to meet 100 of my other teammates in person. This will be days of running, hiking, swimming, Jasyoga-ing, racing, drinking beer, and more! Follow my Twitter and Instagram as I’ll be sure to live-post from the fun.

I’m also excited about heading to Chicago next week with the hubby and two of our best friends, Jay and Lindsay. We’re going to take Lollapalooza by storm! So amazing. I’m ready for this experience – Lolla, great friends, deep dish pizza, and more.

This is what I’ve been up to lately. What’s new with you? Any big races coming up?