If The Shoe Fits...

Today I decided to head down to Fleet Feet in Fair Oaks to get fitted for some running shoes. I figure if I'm going to invest the next six months of my life running tons of miles, I'd better have a damn good pair of shoes. The guy who fitted me is actually a marathon coach as well, so he gave me some very helpful tips and tricks as well as answering all of my questions.

Here are my brand new shoes:

Asics Gel-Kayano 18 Running Shoes

As it turns out, he says you're supposed to run in shoes one full size bigger than the shoes that you would normally wear. I typically wear a 6.5 to 7 - I have been wearing a 7 up until now to run in. He said that especially with the longer distance running, you need to have room for your feet to move ("How much do you like your toenails" was his actual question) as well as room for your feet to swell.

I also got some Superfeet Insoles - since I had surgery back after college to have a bone taken out of my foot, I've had a mostly numb big toe. When I run, I roll that foot inward a little bit, which ends up making my hip hurt. These insoles are supposed to help with that.

I also got some running tights (full length - I have shorts and capris but needed some cold weather ones) as well as a couple shirts. Probably my favorite purchase is my new arm warmers... they're hot pink and made by Saucony.


Hot Pink Arm Warmers!

 The beauty of these suckers is that I can wear them with short sleeve shirts, but when I get really hot, I can either pull them down or take them off without having a whole shirt to carry with me.

Finally, I got fitted for new jog bras. Gentlemen, you probably want to stop reading here. I've never really been fitted for a bra before, so it was kind of nice to go through the process here. She completely changed the style that I wore - normally it was the standard racer back from Target. As it turns out, for those of us who are well endowed but have smaller rib cages, those are really bad. We stretch the elastic out pulling them over our heads, so there's not a lot of support happening. Instead, we're supposed to wear jog bras that actually clasp in the back (like a regular bra) so that we don't stretch out the elastic. When I put it on, it definitely had a lot more support than the jog bras I have but was really comfortable.

I'm so excited to get running!