New Shoes

I was a cynic, I will admit.  When people told me that having good running shoes made all the difference, I was not convinced.  I thought that they had all been duped by the salesmanship of the Running Store.  When I started running, I went to the sporting goods store, and bought the cheapest shoes I could find.  20$.  I figured why spend a lot of money on something that I wasn't sure that I would keep using anyway.  But after a few months of running, and still fighting knee pain, I decided that I might need something new.  The final straw was when I looked at the bottoms of my shoes and realized that the tread had been worn completely off in places.  I took advice and went to the Running Store ready to bite the bullet and drop 100$ on a pair of shoes.  Shopping for shoes at a dedicated running store is quite the process.   The guy that was helping me looked at my old shoes to see what my wear patterns were.  He had me stand barefoot to see how my feet turned into the floor.  When we were ready to start trying things on, he had me wear two different types of shoe at the same time, so that I could tell which one I liked better.  He had me go outside and run up and down the shopping center sidewalk so that I could get a good feel for them.  He told me to describe what I did or did not like about the shoe.  I found myself identifying myself as a rookie with statements like "It makes my foot too squishy."  But in the end, the system worked.  I wore one shoe for several rounds of face offs and it won every time.  Until the final round, when I tried on a Nike shoe.  Before I had even finished tying the laces, I could feel the difference.  I loved how it felt on my foot.  It was breathable without being too roomy.  And I was excited to see how it felt when I ran.  And while I was outside testing the shoes out, a nice lady gave me a coupon for 15$ off that she was not going to use.  85$ later, I walked out with my beloved new shoes.  Within a week of runs, my knee pain was all but gone.  And it has not returned. 

Thank-you, Nike shoes, I am now a believer.  The shoes really DO make all the difference!

The 14 miles that almost killed me.

Coming off of my runs with Rachael, I think I got a little over confident.  I had a little bit of that feeling that I had after giving birth.  That "I am the queen of awesomeness and I can do anything!!!!" feeling.

Pride cometh before the fall.

Our 14 miles was my fall.  If I remember right, it was supposed to be a 15 miler.  We had it mapped out, but ended up taking a short cut and making it just 14.2-ish.  I know I probably could have made it the full 15, but it just might have killed me.

Looking back, there were a few factors contributing to that run sucking so much.  It had finally gotten truly hot.  So even though we started the run early, it was already hot.  Consequently, I sweat a lot.  We ran a loop that included a Maverik, where we stopped to refill our waters.  I had gatorade in two of my little bottles, and it was already gone, but I didn't think I would need anymore, so I didn't buy a gatorade at Maverik.  I was soon regretting it.  We had a hill right after Maverik, and I seriously struggled while climbing it.  It wasn't that I was in my own head and didn't think I could do it.  In fact, I was thinking, "I can do this.  Why won't my legs listen to me right now?"  I was just so weak.  

Heather and Ryan were doing their best to be supportive, but they were struggling off and on themselves.  Sometimes the words of encouragement really boost me.  And other times I just need to put my head down and pretend I am alone.  I remember one run where I was struggling on a steady uphill, and Heather said, "There's only 5 more telephone poles until it evens out."  And I nearly punched her.  It's funny because another time that very sentence would have given me just the boost I needed. 

Those 14 miles humbled me again.  They reminded me that while I had come a long way, I still had a long way to go.  I needed to swallow my pride when it came to refueling and "chomping up."  ("chomping up is our term for taking a minute to get some energy in us.  In the beginning, this came in the form of Gatorade's CHOMPS, hence the term "chomping up.") 

From that point on, I gave those long runs the respect they deserved.  I made sure I had all the energy and fuel I needed.  I made rest and hydration a priority the night before the run.  I listened to my gut, and listened to my body.  It wasn't the last crummy run I've had, but I am glad that I had that eye opening craptastic run to make me more cautious and aware.  I'm not letting a run catch me by surprise again!