Marathon Training – Day One

Today was the day! I officially started my training for the New York Marathon. Running through all five boroughs on November 6, 2016. I’ve been quite active since my gastric bypass surgery but I mostly walk. I’ve wanted to do a marathon for as long as I can remember so I’m so excited that this is the year. My theme for 2016 is No Comfort Zones!

The first time I started running was when I quit smoking in 2007. I bought shoes that I thought were cute and were marked as “running shoes.” My feet are flat and wide and as a larger person I always had some discomfort with my feet and shins for the first few miles. After I completed the Hyannis Half Marathon (weighing 330 lbs, I might add) I had blisters all over my feet, I lost a toenail, and I took some time off from running to recover. I never got back into my momentum and successfully quit smoking but gained a lot of weight and just didn’t go back. I still dreamed of 26.2 miles.

This time I decided to do something different. I actually went and got professionally fitted for shoes. I went to Camire’s in Wakefield and they were outstanding. They not only measured my feet but watched the way I walked and took into account that my feet were wide and I have very little arch. Come to find out the athletic shoes that I’ve always worn were the worst shoes for me. He said I should stick to New Balance or Asics and since I’m marathon training that’s a lot of miles so the shoe had to be stable enough for handling the amount of running I need to do.

Now, I understand that “form follows function” but I also wanted a shoe that I liked too. The difficulty here is that I have very large feet and my selection of shoes were rather limited. He even started bringing out men’s styles because they had more options in size but I also wanted a shoe that didn’t make me feel like I was wearing my husband’s shoes.

After trying on a ton of different shoes and not liking either the comfort or the style I was about to give up and try my luck online which isn’t the best idea for running shoes. He just remembered that a new shoe that just debuted that week hadn’t been unpacked yet. He returned with the Asics GT-3000 4 in Midnight Blue with Pink Glow.

Perfect!

Not only did they feel amazing on my feet but they were exactly the type of shoe I was looking for! God always finds a way.

After wearing them for the weekend to get them primed and ready I did the first day of marathon training. Simple 30 minutes alternating running and walking getting back into the stride of things while focusing on my breathing and staying relaxed. I felt great out there and my feet have never felt so good.

If you’re in RI check out Camire’s Soles they were super good to me and the selection and prices were great.

257 days to go!