Finally took the plunge.

I only have one more thing on my "To Buy" list and that is a Heart Rate Monitor. I think I found one that I want but it's all about finding it for the right price. I really wanted a Wahoo HRM that I can connect to my iPhone and my running app, iSmoothRun but it requires a dongle deal to be connected to the phone which adds about an inch to the phone's length. I'm not sure that I can fit that into my armband, which is too bad. The one I'm looking at now is just a basic chest strap/watch combo by Polar. All I know is that until I get my own HRM, I'm going to keep on trucking on the treadmill so I can keep track of my heartrate. I feel so much better after my runs now and I'm running a whole lot further! Two big pluses.

This is how I felt at the gym recently. The guy next to me was so much faster but I ran for much longer than he did. I think I won the "race". Muaha

 I finally took a trip to SRC in Fresno to buy a new pair of shoes. Admittedly, I got slightly lost. Then I got turned around. Then once I was finally going the right way, my car wouldn't activate the stop light so I sat there through three stop light cycles until I finally got a green light. It should have been easy to get there since in theory I knew where I was headed but the (natural) blonde highlights in my hair finally started to eat away at my brain cells. Anyway, It is a nice little store right across the street from Woodward Park in Fresno with great, friendly employees. There was a track going around the store. It's really the aisle way but it's been arranged and laid out as a track, lines and all.

First, I got officially sized. I've been officially sized a few times and spent time in high school and college sizing people for riding boots, so I'm pretty confident that I've always picked the right size shoes for myself. And, I was correct. Size 8.5B it is! What I needed the most help with was what TYPE of shoe would be best for my feet and my gait. She could tell what my issues were without putting me on the treadmill which was kind of nice because I went out in my jeans today. Running in jeans and getting severely chaffed doesn't rate very high on the list of things to do this month. Sorry.

She told me I have slight overpronation when I move and suggested a Stability Shoe. It was great because she had a dialogue with me about my current shoes (likes/dislikes) and what my training goals are and came out with shoes that would be a sole mate match (haha, get it?). Since I've been putting the most miles in lately with my Asics and I've been avoiding my Nikes like the plague, I told her my thoughts and she respected them and brought me everything BUT Nike. Don't get me wrong, I have no issues with Nike but I've never had luck with them.

I got some really good tips from her about sizing and testing. When you first put the shoes on, stand up and knock your heels down into the shoe so it's as far back as it should be before you check your toes. Thumbs width between the big toe and the end of the shoe is the ideal fit. If you can feel pressure points anywhere, those are not going to go away and the shoes are not for you. If you feel pressure from the arch support, it has too high of an arch for your foot. And lastly, if you are in the correct shoe for your gait and it feels like a natural extension of your foot, it is most likely giving you the support that you need.

Well shoes, you'd better be ready. ;)

After trying on four pairs of shoes and walking around, I settled on another pair of Asics. So slightly over $100 later, I have a pair of shoes that I have 30 days to try and if I don't like them, I can bring them back and try again. If they are my sole mates, I can keep them forever. Or at least until my feet come out the bottom and you can see my toes. Whichever comes first.