06/20/11: New Shoes and conquering my fear

I bought new running shoes this weekend.

My old ones were getting up there in miles.....they were starting to look their age....and new running shoes always cheer me up.

Wow....a sentence I'd never thought I'd hear myself say.

Running shoes make me happy......

(now I have that John Denver song stuck in my head...argh!!)



Anyway.....not only was getting new running shoes "news" in my world...but they aren't Mizunos. I'd never run in anything but, until now.

You see, Mizunos (from my observations) are much more firm. Much less cushion. I went into the store and told the salesperson what I was looking for. A shoe that was still neutral....that wasn't over cushy....but did have a little more cushion than my current Mizunos.

I ended up with a pair of Brooks Glycerin 9's.

Why more cushion???? Well, I still hadn't worked up the courage to run with my new custom orthotics.

Walking two miles in them a month ago nearly hobbled me for a week....so it's no wonder the idea of running in them terrified me.

Those things are stiff, hard and unforgiving....and I was about to run with them?? I was walking gingerly when going down stairs...let alone running. But if I were to get a shoe with SOME cushion, maybe it would help soften the foot to orthotic impact???

My PT told me to only run maybe a mile the first time around. So that's what I set out to do this morning.

1 mile.

I walked about 6 blocks before I finally found the courage to try it out.

And now I wonder what the heck I was waiting for?? I didn't even notice them when running. I knew they were there....but just barely. Running and walking are so completely different, I shouldn't have been surprised. But I was none the less.

Oh well...lesson learned.

On the flip side...the pain in my legs was there. No more, no less, than before. Still hanging around being consistently painful and annoying.

I told my PT about it at my appointment today. She wants me to run in them consistently now for 2 weeks....and if I'm not seeing any improvement they want to try something else.

Mental note: Google "Graston Technique"