I am not a typical example of the female of our species - I hate shopping. Even shopping for running stuff. But I'm getting into this running lark, my old shoes are pretty worn down and now they have started to split. This has been going on for about a month and I decided a while ago I need new shoes. Not only that I really need a gait analysis. My husband keeps telling me how wonky I am, how strange my feet are and other charming endearments (don't worry I give as good as I get). I haven't had any real problems so far, but I don't want any and I'm doing about 20k a week at the moment, which is a bit of an increase. I've been lurking around running shops, but been put off on at least 2 occasions a) by being ignored b) by the horrible fitness of the shop assistants and everybody else in there. But not today. And guess what - neutral gait. I saw the video, perfectly straight, not the slightest bit of wonk. And of course the shop assistant was wonderful and the other customers also treated me like a runner. I went with asics again, as that is what I had before - and here's a pikkie to prove it.
But before I went shopping I had to run, of course. I did 10k at the weekend and although I'm not stiff afterwards I do find 10ks tiring. I did an interval run on Tuesday, short and fast(ish) and I didn't want to overdo it today with another 10k. Another aspect of running which bugs me is the fact that I do many of my runs with planned walking breaks. It makes me faster, but it feels like a bad habit to get into and I sometimes find it difficult to do normal runs non-stop. Every now and then I have to prove to myself that I still can. So today was going to be a 6k - non-stop. And that's what it was. Slow, not easy, no announcements from runkeeper (so no pressure), the wrong music (far too slow), too much faffing trying to keep my phone out of the rain - there's still a lot to improve.
And I'm now at the end of my 5th month of running. Four months since graduation. I ran 82.8k in June at an average pace of 7:19 per km (6 seconds faster than last month and 15k more). I still really enjoy it and love the side effects (running for the bus or train is now easy, feeling slimmer even if the scales say no change). Anyone who is thinking of doing this programme should definitely do it. And to all those just graduated - keep at it, it's worth it!
Run 2 (and new shoes)!
Thinking of getting a beanie (and other musings)!
New shoes! (And Theo)
So excited. New shoes. 
W4R3 - Is it new shoes time?
