It looks as if the relationship between my feet and the new shoes is Twue Lub. Monday we had a few issues to work out, but nothing serious. Today I walked/ran exactly six miles and I did it without pain in either my knees or my hips, both of which had been giving me grief. Hallelujah.

You realize what this means, eh? This means I can no longer blame my running ineptitude on aches and pains. You can well imagine my distress at this ugly turn of events.

It kills me that I have to put in so much effort to run, something that to my mind should simply be innate. I mean, our ancestors who roamed the African veldt all those millennia ago survived because they were smart enough and fast enough to run down prey.

Momma homo sapiens to kid homo sapiens: "Norg, you're not playing with Eep until you get that Snuffalupagus thigh gnawed to the bone. Your dad ran three miles to take down that thing. Don't forget, little man, there's Neanderthal boys in Europe who are going to bed hungry and would give anything to have a juicy Snuffalupagus thigh to gnaw on."

Oh yes, hominid humour. Really, can any of us ever get enough?

My thoughts, exactly.

Today I strung together my first continuous two mile run and I did it in nine minute mile pace which for me is blazingly fast. For most of the other runners in my gym that sort of speed is termed "warm up jog".

Everyone else at my gym who is training for the 10K/6.2 mile Milk Run in June is now at the point where they can run at least five miles without effort and I can barely wheeze out two miles. Oh, this is going to be ugly.

What is particularly frustrating to me is that I am built to run. I'm almost 5'10" inches tall and very long legged. I should have a killer stride, longer than normal, which would mean it should take me far less energy to cover ground than a shorter person.

But I can't put this stride together. I am too clumsy to run at my physical potential. My trainer has tried to help me open up my stride. Other runners at the gym have tried to help me with the mechanics of it, too. Somehow, I just can't piece it together. It is making me mental.

However, I am building up enormous running cred with the Bunny Lacing. Oh yes, the Bunny Lacing has swept my gym. Runners love it because what it does is anchor your heel down in your shoe. This stops it from rubbing against the back of your shoe and also means your heel is flat against the shoe when your foot lands, allowing the cushioned sole to take the whole impact of your weight.

In response to a flood two questions, herewith are bunny lacing pictures.

Step one: instead of criss-crossing your laces, loop your lace from the second hole from the top of your shoe through the top hole of the same side of the shoe, creating a loop that looks kind of like a bunny ear, like this:

Take the lace from the left side and feed it up through the loop on the right. The lace from the right side goes through the bunny ear on the left and it looks like this:

Tug on it gently. You slide your foot in at this point, tighten your laces as if you were wearing skates�start at the end of the shoe closest to your toes and work your way up to the bunny ears. This is what it looks like just before you slide your foot in.

When you're done, just tie a standard bow and you're good to go. You will be amazed at how much more anchored your foot feels in your shoe. Other folks tell me their laces don't come undone as easily, either.

Bunny lacing. If I'm doing it then you know it's dorkalicious.

--Marn

Mileage on the Marnometer: 335.05 miles. Double Duckage. My joy knows no bounds.