When you want to keep on running
Feb 22 '02
The Bottom Line Go to a specialty store. They can give you all the advice you need. And try a lot of different brands, so you can find the right shoe for you.
Running has gone through several hypes during the last two decades. Everybody appears to be doing it. And why not? It's easy, practically everybody can do it. It doesn't take as much time as other exercise. And it delivers very good results.
So what do you need? Well, you need some nice fitting pants, a shirt (preferably with "I'm a bomb technician, if you see me run, try to catch up" on it), socks and of course running shoes. But that's the clincher. Everybody has those. And the pants, shirt and socks shouldn't give you any problems. But the shoes are of vital importance. If you want to be able to walk after running that is.
When looking at most people that run for fun, you may see very bad footwear. People wearing tennis shoes (because they are cheap or comfy) or some other variation on sports shoes. I'm not saying that spending $150 is necessary, but $75 should be taken into account. By good shoes, not the ones on discount (except when they ARE the right ones, then you're just plain lucky)
So, what shoes do you need? First go to a specialized store that can give you some good professional advice. When possible, bring your old shoes, they can tell a lot by those!
What they'll probably do is make some sort of blueprint of your feet. Seems pretty weird, but they can tell how your feet "roll" by that blueprint. When they've determined that, they can tell what shoe is the most suitable for your feet.
Then try on as many pairs as possible. Walk a little in every one. So you can get a feel for the shoe. The ones you like the most, you should run a bit in. What you should look for is a shoe that hugs your foot, but doesn't squeeze it in any area. The heel must sit firmly, so when you wiggle it, the shoe shouldn't feel loose. Also, your foot shouldn't be able to slide forward or sideways. But you should have a little room in the front, because your foot expands a little when landing on the ground.
Last, but not least: lacing it up. Not to tight, you need that blood reaching your toes. But certainly not to loose. A good way to judge if the shoe is laced up right, is when the loops the laces run through, are in a straight line.
After that, start breaking in your newly acquired beauties. But gently. If you run a marathon in brand new shoes, you won't reach the 10 mile mark. Begin with 20 minutes or so and then build op to your normal length of training.
Have fun in your new shoes. When chosen correctly they shouldn't give you any trouble.
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Epinions.com ID:
trasjman
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Member: Loek Wilden
Location: Brunssum, Limburg, The Netherlands
Reviews written: 15
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
No shot is always a miss (sounds a lot better in Dutch)
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