My new plan

Last night I took myself to another running shop, the one I wanted to go at the beginning of my quest for the perfect shoes to enter this new phase of my life, conquering a beast called marathon. When I started to investigate shoes options, I ended up being sidelined by other thoughts and went to another store. Not that the other one was bad but it is far and not easily accessible even to this enthusiastic pedestrian.

As I was mourning the loss of being able to do one single run without getting a monster blister, I realized that since I was about to head out in the area for a focus group ($50 net for an hour work... woohoo!!) I might as well go there to see if I cannot get what I really wanted, a lightweight shoe, a racer. I don't want high heels, I don't want coffins on my feet. I want something light, breathable and that will keep my footsies happy. I run in VFF but  my mileage is very small. I want to continue this as I see minimalist as the way to go for me. However, the transition from high heel to zero drop is too drastic at this point (marathon training) for me. You have to give up something in order to do it and I'm not willing to do it just yet. Next summer. Once I run Paris I will completely move over to minimalist. There will be no races in 2012 other than ATB (maybe) and Paris (for sure) and a few 5ks. This will then give me the time to build my mileage in VFF/BF and see where it goes.

But that's next year, we're in 2011. So back to the program.

After a few tries I settled down to 2 models. The Saucony Progrid Mirage for my long runs and the Saucony Fastwitch 5  for shorter runs, like tempo and intervals. Both feel very comfortable but I will still try them on the dreadmill to see how they react to my feet. I will keep the other ones I purchased and will try them with the anti blister socks I purchased. Unfortunately Blogger will not let me upload the pics...

I have been meaning to get more than one pair of shoes for a while. With all this pounding, cushioning takes about 36 hours to 'bounce back' so using the same pair all the time, when you start going higher distances, can eventually lead to all sorts of ailments, from discomfort to injuries.

So tonight I will give my footsies another rest and hop on the elliptical. Tomorrow is the usual spin class. I will test the Mirage to see how they are then might wear them on Sunday. My short (8k) run on Saturday will not flatten the cushioning enough to make it bad on Sunday.

And of course I will wear my new socks. And body glide. And say a prayer before I head out :)

I feel better. I have a plan, I have something I think will be good. I can do this.