A Free Agent Foot

Well I have new shoes. I went to the closest local branch of the Running Fit Store. There I was helped by a very knowledgeable runner named Jeff. Now I know when I walk I put all my weight on the outside of my feet so I thought that made me supinator but, Jeff took one look at my feet and said I was a pronator. He watched me walk to confirm that my feet do roll in. He had me try on a Brooks brand shoe first because it is better for pronators. It felt very sturdy, but not exceptionally cushioned. I went outside and ran on the sidewalk a little. When I came back he had me try on a pair of Saucony's that were also supposed to be made to stabilize pronators. They were more cushioned in the ball of my foot. When I went outside to run with them I could feel the arch support was too far back in the shoe and it felt like it was hitting my heel. When I came back I told him I really liked the cushion on the Saucony but the arch was totally in the wrong spot for me. We tried different insoles and no insoles but neither of those fixed the problem. Then he had me try on some New Balance 1061's. They are neutral cushioned shoes so they won't help control pronation, but Jeff said that I may not be overpronating so I may not need that feature. I ran in them and they felt good. They feel similar to my everyday Adidas Ozweego's that I have been wearing, with one big difference, the NB 1061's are a wide shoe. Jeff told me that anytime your feet fall asleep it means your shoes are too narrow/tight. So anyway the NB 1061 is an expensive shoe so I asked if Jeff had anything that would fit similar and be a little cheaper. He said that since they fit well that he would take 10% off if that would seal the deal. I said sure and that's how I paid $99+tax for these bad boys.Miraculously enough the new shoes weren't the only new thing I tried during tonight's run. Back in August my wife and I happened to be going by a Nike Outlet store. I had just started the whole running thing and I was curious what they might have for that. I ended up buying a pair of compression shorts (which I overpayed for, much cheaper at Wal Mart) and a pair of Fit Dry running shorts with a sewn in underwear liner. The largest size they had in the Fit Dry shorts was XL. I tried them on when I got home and they fit, but they were a little tight. So I threw them in the drawer and figured I'd get to them at some point. Well the day before I neglected to do my laundry so those shorts were the last thing I hadn't sweated all over yet. They fit much better now, my wife thinks they still look a little tight though. The fabric is a little stretchy so she is right, but they are very comfortable. Now having run in all of my clothes I can say without a doubt they are the most comfortable thing to run in. When I race I will wear these. The shoes also felt good. No feet falling asleep, so that's good. My right foot did have a small dull ache in the ball of the foot, but I'm chalking that up to just getting used to the shoes.

The routine was the same as yesterday. Fingers crossed but this schedule seems to really suit me. I am tired after running the 4 two minute run 1 minute walk sets, but by the time I'm done with the whole 30 minutes I feel really good. I'm still reading The Courage To Start, and I came across some ideas last night for how to create a long run. The basic idea is on par with what I've been doing so if it seems overly obvious forgive me but I had to read it to know what to do. The idea is that you add a small amount of time to one run each week until you have one long run of whatever time length you want. Then if you want to increase your other workout times increase them one at a time by the same time increment at a rate of one each week. My plan is to introduce my long run on Sunday. I am going to add 6 minutes to it each week until I get it up to an hour. This should help me slowly get used to being on my feet for longer periods of time. If it all works out my first hour long workout should be on October 7. I'm not sure what I will do at that point as far as my normal routines go. I also have to think about when I am going to try and incorporate some outdoor running. Ideally I will get some time in before snow flies, but I don't want to rush it as I know it will be harder on my body than the treadmill has been and will require more rest days.