First Running Shoes.....

Tory and I were up to running a continuous mile back in 2002. We continued to run a mile almost everyday as I recall until we went for 2 loops or 2 miles. Our house was right in the middle of a steep uphill. That was a problem.  After running a mile loop there was always a decision point.... quit because there's the house... duh, or keep trudging up the steep hill for another loop.  The extra loop did not always win! 

Sometime after doing this for months, my right foot started hurting. My shoes were just some pair I had lying around (leather Adidas) and I decided to look for better running shoes. I remember going to the local running store (LRS in runner's lingo) and trying on pairs.  I was told to run down the parking lot so they could check stride, gait, whatever.  It was like...ouch, ouch, limp, limp.  We decided it would be better to let the foot heel before looking at shoes.  I laid of running for awhile until the foot settled. I still took Tory to the Dog Park so he could run. 

The foot was healing well and I visited a running store in Toronto while on business.  The guy had me try on a pair of Asics 2040's.  Man were they light weight and comfy! Ever since, I stuck with the Asics 2000 series (which is now up to 2160!).  These shoes are the most popular  stability shoes which supports the foot from pronation (where the ankles collapse inward).

There are MANY shoe varieties with high support, low support, pronation control, neutral, high arch support, low arch support.  The traditional way of determining what type you are is to step on a wood deck with wet feet and look at the pattern then compare:

Runners World video showing foot type:

http://bcove.me/00szycs3

I've stuck with the Asics 2000 stability shoes series for 8 years and recently, my philosophy on shoes and injuries have changed in a major way.... I'm STILL learning.  An interesting discussion on this will follow soon.

How I started running

I started running in 2002 at age 49 when we adopted our shepherd/husky mix, Tory.  He was a one year old  bundle of energy back then.  I was a 195 lb couch potato (or is it potatoe?).  To burn off his energy, I'd take him through walks in our hilly neighborhood in Chapel Hill.  He would pull so hard that I would have to run a little bit to keep up.  Alpha dog!  After a short time running, like a minute, I'd have to start walking again.  Our walks were a one mile loop.  We did this everyday because he had this stare in the morning which said "let's go!"  without a word spoken barked.  This routine started a pattern of getting up, feeding the dog and heading out the door.... every day!  Looking back, this was critical to developing a healthy lifestyle.... a daily routine, rain or shine, heat or cold.

During our daily walks, Tory and I would run a bit longer at random times during our loop.  Eventually, it came to a point where we ran the entire one mile loop!  That was a huge milestone which, unknown at the time, led to the Marathon Dog. But that story is for a later date....

Tory in Couch Dog mode: