New shoes and some goals

So, after about 4 years of wearing Mizuno Wave Riders, I am trying a new running shoe.

I loved my Wave Riders. They were so light and comfortable, but with all the problems I have been having with my feet, I wondered if I maybe needed something with more stability.

I headed to Hanson's Running Shop and talked to a guy about my plantar fasciitis and then he put me on a platform that measured how my weight was distributed on my feet. With that image, watching me walk and the wear on my old shoes, he determined I carry an awful lot of my weight on the outsides of my feet (which makes sense because they hurt there at the end of each day) and my feet collapse inward pretty badly (which is also what my podiatrist told me, and my new super-expensive custom orthotics should help that.)

The store clerk suggested the Brooks Defyance (the name annoys me because it's misspelled!) and I tried them on with my inserts. They felt good, so I got them.

See?



I gave them a try this morning on a 3.4-mile run. The new, more rigid shoes combined with my inserts that I'm still getting used to meant I had some foot cramping issues on my run but still managed to hold a 10-minute mile pace. Hopefully as I keep running in them, they (the shoes AND the insoles) will feel better. I hope they make a difference with my stupid foot injuries!

Along with the new shoes came a new (well, old) goal. I want to run the Brooksie Way Half Marathon on October 3.

This will only be the third running of this race. I REALLY wanted to do it from the very first year, but I got pregnant and training for/running my first half marathon five months pregnant just didn't seem all that possible.

Then, this year I had the baby and was (still am) out of shape as far as running goes and Hubby had health issues, so training hard/racing weren't really options for us.

Hopefully, 2010 will be our year!

We want to do this race because it starts and ends on the campus of Oakland University, where we both went to school. It runs through some really nice neighborhoods around Rochester and along two nice trail systems as well. It's pretty hilly in sections, and is supposed to be a challenging course.

So, I have several fitness-related goals now: Reach pre-baby weight by our friend's wedding in March, be able to do five unassisted pull-ups by my birthday in June, and run the Brooksie Way Half Marathon (preferably without stopping to walk) in October.

Bring it on, 2010!

By the way, I received no free product or compansation in any way from any shoe companies or running stores mentioned in this blog post, just in case you were wondering.