New shoes time

On my last few runs, I've had a really achy hip. On Monday, I spoke to someone at Sweatshop and asked how do I know if I need new shoes? He said to bring them in and he'll check for me. I then went out on my run. What a painful run that was.

Wednesday came and I headed back to Sweatshop and had my shoes checked. It was confirmed that my shoes were in need of replacing.

I was told by someone that he's just saying this to get me to buy new shoes and I shouldn't be getting new shoes every time I ache. It wasn't an ache - I couldn't put weight on my right leg without being in an awful lot of pain.

On Thursday, I went to Saltash Sports to get a second opinion. He said the same - it is my shoes. He then demonstrated that if you can bend your shoes, they're gone and need replacing.

I tried the next model up from mine - New Balance 860s. They felt ok; but not brilliant. I then tried on a few pairs of Mizunos and he said that they didn't suit my feet at all. I then tried on some Asics 1100 series. (no idea of exact model) They were ok; but nothing amazing. I tried on some Brooks Adrenaline GTS 12. I tried the 11 on last year and they didn't have quite enough support. The GTS 12 seem to have been the best of out of the 5 pairs (I tried on 2 pairs of Mizunos) that I tried on. I am now the owner of Brooks Adrenaline GTS 12.

I went out in my Brooks for a quick run yesterday - they felt so good. I was unsure about going for a long run; as I didn't want to be near Marsh Mills and have painful blisters (I had one walking home in my Brooks on Thursday) or have some hip and leg pain. The run was really slow and I couldn't seem to pick up the speed.

I am hoping to go on a 5k with SRC (Sweatshop Running Community) tomorrow evening, where I shall try them out properly. I have decided to keep track of how far I run in both my Brooks Adrenaline and Asics 2150s to see how long they last for.

Due to my issues with my shoes, I had made the decision not to do a 5 mile race today. On Wednesday, I shall be taking part in the Armada Athletics 3k Winter Series.

A race report and shoe review will follow.

You can sponsor me at http://www.justgiving.com/Sofie-Haidon