Walk a mile in new shoes . . .

So, I finally went on my big shoe buying adventure. I went to 5-6 different stores and tried on most every running shoe at each with no luck. I was so scared I was going to buy shoes and end up hating them. I started over analyzing every little thing about each shoe, trying to find anything that might possibly be wrong with them. I finally settled on a pair on Sauconys.The were the most comfortable ones I tried. Next job - test run on a treadmill at the gym. I only made it half a mile before my ankles hurts, my shins hurt, and my hip started hurting. The shoes made me pronate so that I was pushing off my big toe, and only my big toe. Let's just say I lost it. This is ridiculous! Other people I know just go to the store, grab a pair of shoes and BAM! They start running. And I've done a running test before. I have a neutral stride. This shouldn't be so stinkin' hard! I mean, humans have been running for thousands of years and they didn't have fancy shoes! (Yes, I've already gone down the whole barefoot running thing, too. That's a story for another time.)

I was going to go to a running store to have shoes fit to me. This is where you run on a treadmill and they videotape your stride and find just the right shoe for you. The only problem is I feel guilty not buying my shoes from them after all that work, and their shoes are just too expensive. So, I gave it a weekend, calmed down and went to the mall. The lady at Ladies Foot Locker helped the most. She helped explain that women naturally pronate a little, compared to men. So, I really was over analyzing. I just needed to pay attention to my feet and I realized that yes, just a tad is natural, so every shoe out there isn't evil. I just need to stop freaking out.

I ended up finding a pair at Sports Authority. They are Saucony Progrid Jazz 12. I had really liked the amount of cushioning and support in the other pair of Sauconys, so I found these. And these feel right throughout the whole stride. I still was extremely anxious buying them. So far, I like them, although while my right leg feels great in them, my left still has splints. Are they the right shoe? I have no idea. And when we have more money (haha) maybe I'll go to a running store. But for now, I feel like they do the job and I'm sticking with them.

So, shin splints. The splints might just be me, or adding too many miles too quickly, and/or they're just not healed yet and I keep flaring them back up (most likely). But I actually miss running. A lot. I used to always listen to my body and honestly never pushed myself very hard because of it. Then I learned that it's also healthy to learn when to tell your body to shut up and keep running, which is how I worked past my 3 mile plateau and worked my way up to 7 miles. Now I'm trying to learn to balance the two. My current plan is do some running, but not push it too hard, do spin and elliptical machines to keep up on my cardio, and hit the weights, especially on my legs to help strengthen everything. And ice my shin after workouts. I just miss when running was not a pain. I miss having an hour to myself and John Meyer. (He's my relaxing running music for the first half of my runs. Weird, but it works.) I miss the exhilaration of running farther or faster than before, or even just getting through a run without quitting. I know it'll come back. I just miss it.