Instead of actually blogging about things tonight, I thought instead I would blog about what I will be blogging about in the future. Is that meta? Or just annoying? At any rate, here are a few things that have been going on that will soon make an appearance on this here blog:

I made this today! $50 to the first person who guesses what it is.

If you guessed “Pina Colada Chia Energy Chews,” you’re right! But you’re also a liar, because there’s no way anyone would be that specific in their guesses. I’m kind of a gummy maniac on long runs, and I also frequently take baggies of chia gel to slurp, so this recipe seemed like a fun way to combine the two.

I’m going to take them on a test run (hi-yo!) tomorrow and see how my stomach likes them, but from just nibbling on them in the safety of my kitchen, I can say that they are “not bad at all” and “definitely tastier than they look.” High praise! If they’re a success on the run I’ll come back and share the recipe. And where am I running with them, you might ask?

Why, the Harding Hustle 30k, of course! Don’t let the exclamation mark fool you—I’m actually not that excited about racing tomorrow. Friends, it has been hot here. Hot and muggy. And, as much as I don’t want to believe this about myself, the truth is that I am not a good hot-weather runner. I get super tired, and super slow, and super lazy. I haven’t been running all that consistently since Shadow of the Giants, and my longest long runs have been in the neighborhood of 9 miles. Ruh-roh.

Of course, it’s “only” a 30k so I anticipate finishing and all that. But the course is basically 9 miles up a mountain and 9 miles back down, and it would be nice to not want to die while doing the “up” portion—but I’m afraid my lack of any sort of training (and heat training specifically) may come back to bite me. Wish me luck and cool breezes!

The last piece of news is that I’ve bought clown shoes! Actually, they’re Hoka One One Bondi B’s, but you could be forgiven for thinking they’re clown shoes or moon boots. I’ve been reading about these shoes for awhile on Dave Mackey’s blog, but I didn’t really get the itch to try them until I saw at least a half-dozen people wearing them at different races this spring. To a one, they all RAVED about them. Things like “I ran 100 miles in them and then went swing-dancing that night!” That sort of thing. The idea is that they’re really lightweight, with a neutral build and very little heel lift, but they have an oversized midsole that adds height and width for lots of cushioning and stability. The Bondi B is techincally the road model, but lots of folks use them on trails and that’s what I’m planning on doing as well.

Unfortunately, I ordered them online and I haven’t received them yet! SUPER disappointing since they’re supposed to be amazing for downhills and I would love to try them out on the hills tomorrow. So I’m stuck in my trusty Inov-8s for now, but look for a review in the next few weeks once I have a chance to try them out on the trails.