Brooks Adernaline 12

About 3 weeks ago, I bought a pair of Brooks Adrenaline 12; as my New Balance 660s have completely worn out and were giving me a lot of pain.

They are so comfortable. Have had a minor problem with blisters; but nothing major that would prevent me from running. I love them.

I did try on the 11s last year; but they do not offer quite enough support for me. The 12s are extremely comfortable and a pleasure to run in.

I did have a bit of an issue with shin pain; but from previous experience, I do know that this isn't really anything to worry about and it should wear off. It has worn off, thankfully.

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

VLM Reject

So, I received a magazine in the post on Thursday, which informed me that I have been unsuccessful for the 2013 London Marathon. Ah, well. Not marathon ready at all; so it would have just been deferred anyway.

I will be reapplying next year I think. I am hoping that in 2014 I will be ready.

Sweatshop Running Community

Not posted for a while; as it will just turn into a moan about how crap my runs have been.

Last week, I had a lot of trouble with running club and being left behind. As it's getting dark, it's now being dangerous.

A few weeks before, I'd signed up to Sweatshop Running Community. I went along on Thursday to see what they're like. I loved it. There was no issue of being left behind; as we were doing intervals and kept doing loops. As much as I hate loops (and laps) I loved this particular session.

After an hour we went back to club. As I was leaving, the leader asks me if they've scared me off, to which I replied "not yet!" I was informed that their Monday sessions (which never go above 5k) are much slower than Thursdays sessions.

I will certainly be going back there again.

The Olympics

So, for the last few weeks I've been following the Olympics. What a fantastic event it is. I watched most of the running events and have to say that some of the times scared me! They're so fast.

Can't wait until 2016.

Thunder Run

I will do a proper race report at some point.

Over the weekend, I took part in a 24-hour team race called Thunder Run. The goal was to run as many laps as was possible in 24 hours. We decided the fairest way was to draw names out of a hat and then see how everyone feels as to who runs when.

I was last. This meant running sometime around 7.30/8pm. Great I thought. This gave me time to relax, hydrate and get enough fuel inside me.

It was a really lovely weekend. I got slightly injured and really will not be running this next year. As fun as it was, the course was really awful to run.

It was very well organised.

Wanted: Mojo

I was informed on Friday that's now less than 2 weeks until Thunder Run. I am now concerned. I have no mojo at all and have never run when it's really dark or run more than once during the day. I've not run more than 6k since January.

Needless to say, I'm now panicking...