Running shoes

Since starting the couch to 5K running sessions I have quickly established my shoes are as in bad shape as I am. My heel moves, my foot slides forward, my arches hurt and my shins ache.

I am a little hesitant to buy new running shoes just in case I get lazy and decided running isn't for me but I am struggling to imagine that this will happen as I feel pretty determined to give running a good go. 

I have been researching running shoes and think I will go to Derby Runner in Spondon since I am such a noob! 

Having done my research online I have established that i am an "over-pronator" which means I land on the outer edge of my heel which puts loads of pressure on you big toe area. I think my ugg boots give this away! These are my old ones I eventually wore away the area above my big toes and as you can see the soles aren't looking so hot!

So I replaced them with these from Costco and I have worn them in the same way in less than 6 months and that is wearing an ortho heel to correct for some of this!

I always thought the insoles I wear correct for this and help me to not be so flat footed. They make my shoes more comfy anyway! I swap them in and out of pretty much every shoe I wear! I know I should probably buy posher more practicle shoes but I am in no way the average girl with loads I shoes, I have my beloved walking boots, a pair of fuggs *fake uggs* (because that is the sort of classy lady I am) and a few pairs of pumps and my favourite reef sandels.

These are my wonderful favourite walking boots:

They are brasher goretex boots with vibrant soles. It took me a long time and fair few pairs to find these and now I have them I can't imagine anything else but them!

When I first got them at Gaynor Sports they weren't cheap and the lady fitting me with boots put little wedges under my heel as my feet slid forwards. Gaynor sports is absolutly my favourite outdoor shop in the whole of Cumbia and the Peaks. They are great for walking boots and everyone is so experienced, well trained, friendly and helpful. 

Now I have replaced the boot insoles with these Superfeet insoles as the heel support is great. My heel doesn't move around but my toes have room to move. When I go down hill in them I don't slide forwards. The only thing I wish I knew when I bought them was that if I don't clean the mud off them the bacteria in the mud eats through the goretex and I have taken a few years off my shoes waterproofing by not cleaning them after each walk. I am at least grateful I know this now rather then in 10 years time.

Really I think I am looking for the running equivalent of my beloved boots! 

I am also not sure what type of shoes I need. I think I need ones with stability to correct my gait or at least reduce the risk of doing myself damage! I am unsure of whether to get trail shoes or not as I tend to run half through fields and mud and half on the pavement. If I run any 5Ks etc I think I will need something suitable for concrete so I suppose that Derby Runner are the people to ask about this. Everyone I have spoken to about running have always recommended Derby Runner for their expert knowledge, I hope they are as good as everyone says they are! I will keep you posted!

Where to start?

I have never had a blog people may actually read before although I think it is unlikely that people will read this but still I feel nervous about where to start. The first thing to mention I suppose is that I don't *currently* class myself as a runner, jogger, fitness finatic or anything similar to this. In the past I perhaps preferred the term outdoor enthusiast. I climbed a lot and sailed a fair amount, dabbled in kayaking and even dared the dreaded gym rather too regularly hoping for leaner meaner thighs. I never truly enjoyed the gym though. Being indoors didn't ever appeal but when I ran outside it hurt, oh my how it hurt. Truth be told I didn't make life easy for myself though as the few times I tried running outside I went down the hills behind my family home and of course when there is a down there is also an up... I walked up those hills again and wrote the whole experience off as a failure! More recently since moving in with my hubby I have become more and more lazy and lost that craving to exercise I used to feel! At first we both attempted going to the gym, but the big commercial DW gym in Derby seemed far more intimidating and going climbing in the Peaks became more effort as it was no longer a stones throw away, so I lost my enthusiasm to exercise. A couple of job moves and house moves later, life has settled down and I have been feeling a need to get fitter, run, feel that adrenaline rush.



I have been feeling a desire to run since last autumn but it has taken some time to get the confidence up to give it a try.  A few things have been stopping me from trying including the darker winter nights, not very inviting even for the average runner. I also have a terrible running style, I think "proper runners" call it gait, or is that something else? I have flat feet and climbing induced bunions and end up hurting my knees and back after a short run. Finally I am asthmatic, as in the steroid pumping, tablet taking type of asthmatic. So all in all I have been terrified of failure and have a lot to learn, mainly about how to correct my running style and most importantly I need to learn how to breath correctly when I run.



So to learn to run, I am starting with the NHS Couch Potato to 5K podcasts, I have "run' three times now and am enjoying it! I believe the C25K plan is quite common but the NHS podcasts are really good. They come with motivational music and a lady persuading you to keep going. After my first time I ached a fair bit. Not quite to the same degree as the first time I did body pump but enough that my husband enjoyed poking my thighs to make me screw my face up and yelp. The second and third times were interestingly a little harder when running but I ached far less after and I even found myself throwing in an extra running minute at the end.



So I propose a toast and raise my plastic water bottle to learning to run and not chickening out along the way!



Here is a cheeky selfie just to prove I did get off my couch (before climbing back on to write this!!)