Do shoes make a difference?

Yes, apparently they do! When I first starting running in April, I went to Dick's sporting goods to get my "gear" which included Nike shoes with the Ipod tracker. The sales guy did tell me not to get the Nike shoes just because of the Ipod. However, the shoes seemed comfy so I went with them. 2 weeks later I went to a running store to get inserts because I didn't feel like the shoes were providing enough arch support. The guy there told me that my shoes were actually a little small and next time I should go up a size.

In mid-June, I felt is was time to get new shoes. For some reason-probably because I had a coupon-I went back to Dick's. In retrospect, the shoes I picked were a terrible choice especially because the girl who helped me told me she loved them but doesn't run! I was in somewhat a hurry so they felt comfortable and I bought them. These are the ones I have been doing my heavy training AND probably contributed to my planter facitis or sore heel.

Friday, I finally made time to go to a shoe store that specializes in running shoes. The guy immediately told me that I was wearing the wrong shoes. He had me walk for him and picked some different shoes that actually felt comfortable and supported my foot. I bought them.

While I was there, he introduced me to a drink, crytomax. I have been sticking to water because I am not into sports drinks but I thought I would try it since he said all the runners who work there swear by it. He instructed me to drink half the mix with a bottle of water before my run and then bring some along. I figured I would try it if it would possibly improve my run.

I am not sure if was the shoes or the drink or what but I had a great long run yesterday. I ran the whole way, the whole 11 miles! Alan and the kids met me the halfway point with water refills and then I was on my way. The only bad thing was I *thought* I was running faster and harder than I was but clearly the Ipod was off because it said I did 15 miles at 9-10 minute paces. When I clocked the route using my car, it was only 10 miles, but still did it in a good time. One more long run on Friday before the race 2 weeks from today!
If you are in Chicago, come down and cheer us on. Our time will be wearing cool grey shirts with pink writing   with Jill's quote on the back of the shirt. Check out her site and make a donation if you feel inclined!
https://www.kintera.org/site/c.jtJVJ8MSI...