New Running Shoes

Last year about two month before my marathon I decided to purchase a new pair of running shoes. I was wearing my second pair of Brooks and they were looking a little old. Now, bear with me because I know what you’re thinking, the older the gym shoe the better they feel. I had heard about the Running Store by one of my siblings, and once I got to the store the sale Rep asked me questions like; how long do you run, what type of running you do, what are your future plans and if you feel any aches or pains after your runs.

Ok, now after the 21 questions they make you take your shoes off. You stand on this pad and that indicates how you proportion your weight on your heals when you stand. It was also explained that this helps decide the best type of shoes to run in. Then I got a 3 minute run on a treadmill while my feel and heals were being recorded. The concept is used to determine how you land on your feet and to see how straight your heal is, as it is aligned with your ankles. Please do not take all that I am saying as 100% straight from the horse’s mouth, I am trying to repeat what the guy was telling me as he did the test. Then, they will let you preview the recording and show you how your feet landed. For some reason I tend to point my foot a bit out when I land during my run. They suggested two styles of shoes for me that gives me extra stability. Then they heat some insoles and they fit them to your feet. This will give your feet better arch support with your gym shoes. The reason of this long explanation will be given soon.   

They recommend both Brooks and Asics IGS. I enjoy running in Brooks, the shoes have no weight and they feel roomy. When I say roomy, I have a penthouse of wiggle room for the piggies. Since I already had a pair of Brooks I purchased the Asics IGS. They felt snug but comfortable. I decided to wear them and walk in them for a while to break them in and get used to the style and comfort before the marathon. 

Frist let me say I am a self-conscience person. If I am not 100% comfortable in what I am wearing I feel the other 7 billion people in the world will notice. These gym shoes have a funny look to them. The laces start at the far right and as they work themselves up to the top they all finish at the left side of the shoe. This makes it seem as if my feet point at each other. Now do not get me wrong, they are comfortable but again I felt a bit pigeon toed. So I didn’t wear these for the marathon. I pulled the insoles out of the new shoes, and inserted them into my old pair of Brooks, and this helped me run those 26 long, agonizing, arduous, sweat-induced miles. This brings me back to the beginning. It is definitely more comfortable to run in your warn shoes. I have just started training in my new Asics IGS, which I purchase last year. They seem heavy when I run, and  needless to say by the end of the run I felt soreness due to the weight of the shoe. The good thing is I have all summer to run in my pigeon shoes and break them in for the  next 26 mile run, this October.   

Note: You must give your marathon shoes some millage before the long run.

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Chicago Marathon 2011

I ran the Chicago Marathon last year for the first time. A group of friends from our church do this every year. The Team is call Run 121, They run and raise funds for World Vision Children. I have to say the experience was a painful one. Running 26 miles is not easy and the training was difficult.  By the 20th miles i was promising my kids i would not do it again. As my daughter Moni would say" sure that’s what you say now. But next year we will be here again cheering you.

I cannot say i did great timing, or that I came in looking, like all the athlete. My only goal was to finish and it seem to take for forever. There were moments where, I wanted to sit down on the side walk and say "ok, I did my best".

I believe what you start, you must finish. I set my goal to complete the marathon, to Finish.  Even if I was the last one to cross the finish line.  The experience of crossing the finish line was very emotional, I didn’t know if I should cry, laugh or lay down. :)

God has blessed me with some awesome kids, they played a major role in this; cheering for us, giving us encouragement, they joined me at one point to run alongside me. God help each and every one of us all the way and kept us safe.

Well, my friend Dave send out emails to the running team and said have you decided to run a race for Team World Vision yet? Have you built up enough courage to go for it???


Yes, I am nuts and we're doing this again! My Family will be running the Rock N Roll Chicago Half Marathon August 14 with me. And, In October my husband and I will run the Chicago Marathon for the second time.

I have started a new trend in our family. Moni, Cris and Efrain and I ran the Santa Hustle last year (Dec 4, 2010). It was cold!

In January Cris, Efrain and I ran the New Year's Dash in 22 degrees weather. Its given our family yet another great opportunity to have fun and create some lasting memories.

We will be starting our official training April 2, 2011, join me in my journey of running by reading my journal.

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