I very excitedly went to a running shop for gait analysis today. I was expecting to run on a treadmill and be filmed showing myself up in public but the assistant just looked at my bare feet and watched me walk and said I was a "neutral" then produced about 5 different pairs of running shoes in the price range we told him.
They were all really comfortable and it was difficult to choose between them. The assistant was very scathing about the shoes I'd been running in for the last 8 weeks "We'd NEVER sell a pair of shoes like THAT!" ;o)
In the end I went for some Mizuno Wave Riders that cost £60 and apparently have enough support and cushioning. I liked them because they were the most comfortable although there was another pair that had springier bottoms that I liked - I just didn't find the actual shoe as comfy.
While we were on our spending spree I bought myself a grown up running top and an armband to hold my phone so I can listen to Laura hands-free.
I gave all three new purchases a test-run this evening on w8r3 and the shoes were great, the top was great but the armband thingy fitted so snugly on my phone that it kept turning the volume off so that's been a waste of money :o(
The shoes were so good that I reckon I even ran an extra 30 seconds faster than my previous two runs - not a lot, I know, but I was still pleased! And I think my shins feel less sore than normal too which is great.
I'm definitely a little bit obsessed with running now which is quite funny as I'm still only a beginner! I've just ordered Running Made Easy from Amazon to feed my addiction ;o)