Brian and I have had our first tiff. Until now, it’s been nothing but romance, all flowers, chocolates and kisses.

My longest run of the year on the weekend, and I am sore. The hips especially, and I don’t know why. I actually feel like I’m running well with the new action. Pose+Brian no longer feels like “baby giraffe”. I am also through the “prancing circus horse” phase (these are my descriptions) and when I think I have it right, it feels pretty good. Until today though, it hadn’t hurt.

I’m sure this is just normal. My commitment to Brian (although I have been seeing Nicholas Romanov on the side) is strong, despite the newness of our relationship. He’s made me slow, and now sore, but the book says that will happen. Brian says the results of persistence are probably five months away. Here’s hoping. For better or worse, till death us do part, I’m in. The purchase of some shiny new Nike Free Run sneakers on the weekend has sealed it.

As I moved towards less shoe, I have of course devoted some time to research. At least what passes for research in 2012 (five minutes on Google).

I’ve come across this video by Christopher McDougall, the author of a book called “Born to Run”. Christopher talks about his own evolution towards barefoot running, and the evolution of humanity, focusing on the theory that distance running, is in some part responsible for our dominance as a species. Deep stuff. I’ve also seen videos of this guy running along a New York road in a pair of Roman sandals, so he’s either mad or experimenting with his marketing. Nonetheless, he gives a good talk, easily worth 10 minutes of your time.