Groovy new shoes
As any runner knows, shoes are an important part of the kit*, but I’ve always been a shoe-deny-er, hating to part with my hard-earned money for something as silly as a foot cover. This probably explains why my two pairs of running shoes are six and seven years old, and each has hundreds and hundreds of miles on them – far more than their recommended distances.
But I’ve been noticing more and more that my current running shoes are hurting my feet, and they’re falling apart. So I did what I’ve been threatening to do for a couple of years now: I bought a pair of groovy new shoes.
I took advantage of the after-Christmas sales – and the end of the 2014 shoe line – and found myself a great bargain on a pair of 2014 Asics. And whilst I’m normally a Brooks girl, I am pleased with my purchase and I feel very confident in the decision to try a new brand of running shoe. Of course, the decision to buy was made even easier because I took advantage of the free gait analysis offered by Run4It in Edinburgh (it’s a great service offered at most quality running stores these days).
Run4It’s service was fabulous. I walked into the busy store and Hamish was there straight away to offer assistance – and he was more than happy for me to try out a couple of different pairs on the analysis treadmill. If you’ve never done a gait analysis before, I highly recommend it. It was a real treat to be able to see the difference in how my feet landed in the different shoes, and hopefully, it means that my feet will be a lot happier on my half- and full-marathons.
Speaking of half and full marathons, I’m starting to give some serious thought to my 2015 race schedule. I’m not going to attempt monthly races, as I’ve done in previous years, but I am going to attempt at improving my times over the year – something I hope these groovy new shoes will assist with.
Stay tuned for my 2015 running goals post, and expect to read a post-race review of my new shoes when the time comes.
* Unless you’re a barefoot runner. In which case I think you’re weird. But to each their own.
Very cool. Never heard of that, but I would love to do that.
You should! I know there are several places in your neck of the woods that does gait analysis. I looked up a few when I was home last year but never got around to actually going. My feet are so very happy with my new shoes, and I think that having done the analysis did make a big difference.