I found this old blog post about how Google Maps has contour lines when you are in terrain mode. Looking at this view gives you an idea of all the hills that you would encounter during a run. So I decided to take a look at the route we used to take when running on the trail and see if there were any significant hills that we had to run during that route..
I saw this article on Yahoo about how to choose the right pair of shoes for your sport and it reminded me of all the different running shoes I have had over the years. I can’t remember what years I had what shoes, but I have had almost every brand you can name: Nike, Adidas, Asics, New Balance, Brooks? In the beginning of the article it says that a pair of shoes will not make you better at any given sport, but it will prevent any unnecessary injuries that bad shoes will do to you. I have had quite a running few injuries in my day, including shin splints, as well as knee and hip injuries. But I never drew to the conclusion that one particular pair of shoes caused that particular injury. And that’s because I don’t think it’s true. I do believe that certain brands offer different features when it comes to running shoes. Some brands are more focused on weight so they lack a little in support and the other way around. Other shoes are made for specific types of feet shapes and sizes.
I remember back in Junior year when I got some really cheap racing flats. My feet would be burning so much that in a three mile race, my feet would be on fire by the first mile! I made the mistake of continuing to race in them, thinking, ‘oh it was a one time thing, it should be fine in the next race.’ It never was. And then one day one of my teammates offered an extra pair of flats that he had and they were also cheap too. But it felt so good running in those, it was the greatest feeling ever (in a race). He was nice enough to let me keep racing in them. The ironic thing was my other teammate raced in those same flats that burned my feet and he had no problems with it.
Every runner is different, and this story shows it. While one shoe may be terrible for one runner, it will be okay for another. This is why you test out shoes before you buy them, maybe run around in them if possible (some stores actually let you do that).
Choosing running shoes for sports is a difficult process. You want to find out what is important for each sport (support, comfort, stability, etc.) and then compare with other competitors to see how they do or do not meet those needs. It’s also a great way to find one that suits your price and personal preferences. For example, when I was younger I never tried to choose the right basketball shoe, but bought whatever was cheapest. That didn’t work out for me because I ended up getting injured and the shoes just wore out a lot sooner than expected.
I guess this should have been my first post, but I created the About The Trail Running Blog page, so thought it would have been a sufficient explanation, but I will try to elaborate a little bit more.
I have wanted to start this running blog for quite some time now, but due to other events in my life, I never came around to doing it. I also didn’t know enough about blogging to truly make this work the way I wanted it to. So I patiently waited, for the right moment to start this.
Back in high school, I was told by my coach to start and keep a running log/journal of my runs, just to have to look back on in the future. So I did just that: I sat down and wrote about each run good or bad. Although it has not done much but bring back fond (and depressing) memories of past running experiences I had. Now that I have been able to set up this blog and upkeep it on a daily basis, I will share my stories, hoping to relate to others who have (had) the same passion for running that I used to have or still do, and hope to revive that passion that I once had.
Almost 5 years after running in my last track season, I have tried to get back to running on a daily basis. I have attempted this before, numerous times, to no avail. Either I was too busy with work, or too tired from it, I was never able to consistently run. I have run 3 times in the last 4 days, which is quite a feat for me. I hope I can run 4-5 times a week, for now, which is weak sauce since I ran 7 times a week in high school, 3-10 miles a day, as opposed to 1-2.5 these days.
But the fact that I can still run that long without having to stop for air or water, I think it just shows that I still have the running mentality in me. I am also getting inspiration from my Husky, Molly by having a companion with me while I run. Although she pulls like no other, and is afraid of the dark and sewer drains, she is still happy to get out of the house every now and then. Little does she know she is actually keeping me inspired to run every day.
I will try and post old running log entries as well as new ones from current runs that I find blog-worthy, not to mention any other running facts or knowledge that I can muster out of this old runner’s brain..
This is the first post in the Trail Running Blog, hopefully not the last. I had to do a lot of setting up before I could even make this post. After the idea, I had to find a theme that fit well with what I would be talking about. So I looked up ‘running wordpress themes’ and you know what results I got? WordPress themes that worked! Oh Google and their semantics. Anyways, I kept looking and finally found this one theme, which I guess looks okay. But if you find any other running blogs out there, I bet they have this blog theme too. I will try my best to change some of the design/navigation areas to make it look a little different. But for now, this is all I got.
I will try and figure out how to begin this blog later.
A running blog for training, race reports, product reviews and lessons learned..
