10K Run - Training Report #3

The quiet streets suddenly echo at the sounds of my flat feet slapping hard against the tarmac. My shins cry with every landing.

Yes, I’m running again.

Foolishly, I have completely inadequate trainers on.

As I have never in all my life been accused of being either athletic or fashionable, the kind of footwear I use for the gym has never been a concern. Currently, I have two pairs of trainers (if you are reading this from across The Pond you probably call them something else, use Google if you haven’t figured it out yet) and neither of them are what you would call – good ones.

The pair in my gym bag at work is ok. They are very basic Nikes and were in a sale, due to being three years out of season when I bought them, ten years ago. I’m told they would be absolutely fine for playing tennis in, but not much good for running. Who knew there was a difference?

My pair at home, however, is something special. I bought them four years ago in an emergency when we were going on holiday and I’d failed to bring my gym pair. They cost a monumental £5 and were from Asda (To save you ‘Merkins some Google time just call it Wal-Mart). I can assure you they were overpriced. I might was well slip on a Verruca sock for all the use they are. Not only are the souls shallower than Paris Hilton’s but they are almost a full size smaller than whatever the little label stitched into them says they are. In short, they were absolutely fine for playing badminton with my kids at Center Parcs, but running further than the length of my nose in them gets painful.

My toes, curled up against their will, dig into whatever that soft bit of skin is that they join onto and with absolutely no cushioning under me at all, my shins receive the full force of my oversized waistline upon them.

There is no way out of it; I’m going to have to go shopping for some running shoes.

How do you even start with that? What kind of trainers are good for running in? What’s the difference? How do I know if I’m wearing running shoes or tennis shoes? I’m feeling stressed just thinking about it.

But I need something better because I’m hurting. I went out yesterday and ran 7Km and my legs are wrecked, my shins splintered to smithereens. There’s no way I can take a step further than 7K until I have some better footwear on, I’m not even sure I should repeat my current distance in them.  Do any of you sporty readers have any suggestions as to what decent but cheap trainers I can buy and from where?

I’m prepared to hazard a guess that running hasn’t suddenly made me a fashionista but can it be making me an athlete?

Surely not.