New Passion, New Pair, New Goals

Before I start, let me just say that the scent of a new pair of rubber shoes are the best (aside from the new car scent). Here we go!

The Purchase 

So here's how it went. Tuesday after work, I was able to pass by the new branch of Second Wind at Ortigas Home Depot to check out some new shoes. The store had lots of shoe selections categorized into Cushioning and Stability variants. The attendants were very accommodating and answered all my questions. I then asked about their Gait Analysis services, and it turns out that you had to pay 500 if you're not buying shoes. But they still assessed my foot type for free. It turns out that my left foot supinates and my right foot overpronates. My left foot is even a quarter inch longer than my right. Talk about bad symmetry. Luckily, they had solutions to my problem. Like what they say, ''We don't know how to sell. We just know our gear.'' And they really did know their gear well. They recommended three entry level stability shoes from New Balance, Nike and Adidas. I tried them all out by walking and slowly jogging on the treadmill. New balance wobbles a bit on my left foot so we ruled them out of my options. The Nike pair was very comfy and was stable enough to support my feet. But the Adidas pair felt more stable but a little less comfy. 

To thoroughly compare the two, we put Nike on my left and Adidas on my right and then walked and jogged on the treadmill. Then we switched it up. I felt the difference between the two on my left foot. The Nike variant wobbles just a little bit to the left side of my left foot while jogging. The Adidas ones were completely stable so I guess I have found the right pair. 

I didn't have the money to buy yet last Tuesday so I said I'll just come back within the week to buy the pair. I knew I can get 1000 pesos off the price tag from a different store because Second Wind did not offer the ''Refresh Your Gear'' promo by Adidas. But I felt bad that they helped me find the right pair and they won't get anything from me. 

By Thursday, I decided that I'll purchase the shoes from Toby's Megamall and then buy socks from Second Wind. I will also make subsequent purchases in the future at Second Wind since they offer more options and they can really tell you what you need as a runner. When I arrived at Toby's, I found my pair. Adidas Response Stability. Tried it at my size and walked around the store. But then I saw the Adidas Supernova Sequence which looks way cooler so I tried them on too. The Supernova was pricier by a grand but it looks so much cooler. But after thoroughly trying both pairs, I still bought the Response because it felt better jogging in it. I also got it a half-size larger than what I tried at Second Wind for fear that it would get tight when my feet expands. Then I went straight to Second Wind to get 3 pairs of training socks from New Balance and a pack of Sports Beans. 


The Break-In 

I put the shoes out of the shoebox last night and placed the new pair of training socks before I went to bed. I set the alarm at 6am but I got up around 6:30am. It was a cool overcast morning so it was chilly outside. I wore a sports sweater on top of my shirt to warm myself up a little more. Then I stretched for 5 minutes on our porch. Afterwards I walked to the main road of our village. I didn't have a good watch that had a timer so I brought a small cellphone that had a countdown timer. The road I was running on had an asphalt portion and a cemented portion. It also has a part with a 15-25 degree slope. I warmed up for 5 minutes, then walked for a minute, then ran for 5 minutes, walked again for a minute. I repeated the 5minute-1minute cycle two more times then I cooled down and walked home. 

The shoes were awesome. They were comfortable all the way throughout the run. My feet did not heat up, probably because of the socks and shoe material. I also did not feel any pain on my shins during and after the run. And the shoes didn't feel heavy at all despite all the stuff they put in the soles for support. They're comfortable and stable at the same time. I guess I'll be training in this pair until it breaks. But the thing that's missing from my gear is something I can use to measure my speed and progress. Since this pair is compatible with the Adidas micoach, I think I'll put it on top of my Christmas wishlist. Hopefully somebody would read this and give me one for Christmas (ehhhrrrmmmwifey). I'm just hoping. 

Stay tuned for my next blog post. I'll be featuring someone who's inspired me into seriously running. Keep running, guys!

P.S. Here's a quick review of the Adidas Response Stability shoes by runningninja

The Shin Splints

Since the start of this year, my shins get sore every after I run. At first I thought it would eventually go away but it gets worse when I run while it's still sore. After googling thoroughly, I learned that they're called Shin Splints. 

According to wikipedia:

Shin splints is a general medical term denoting medial tibial stress syndrome (MTSS), a slow healing and painful condition in the shins, usually caused by exercise such as running, jumping, dancing or other sports.^[1][2] Ten to fifteen percent of running injuries are shin splints.^[3]

Now I don't know what's causing it. It could be my running technique, but a year or two ago I don't get this condition after a run. So I think I only have two culprits to what's causing the said condition. One, it could be the added weight I've been carrying around. It'll take me months to eliminate that factor so I'll go to the next culprit. Two, it could be my shoes. They're worn out, the cushioning is probably deformed, and for all I know I could be using a pair of shoes that's not right for me. This factor is highly modifiable, obviously, so I really need to get a new pair of shoes soon to get back on track. 

I'll probably go to RUNNR tomorrow or on Monday to finally get my feet assessment and gait analysis so that I'll know which shoes to buy. Stay tuned. I'll let you guys see what I bought. 

My Old Kicks

A pair of kicks I bought way back 2006. I used it a lot for 2 years, used it a little for another 2 years and now it needs to be put to rest.

I learned that I should have my feet and gait analysed to help me select the right shoe for me. Otherwise, I might injure myself with a wrong pair. Good thing there's RUNNR. A shop specializing in running, which offers free feet and gait analysis. It's perfect except that they don't offer the Adidas promo. Now, what I might do is get professional advice from RUNNR about which type of shoes to get then purchase it somewhere else where they offer the adidas promo. I know some might say ''That's cheap.'' But, hey, I'm on a budget so I'll take all that I can get.

Stay tuned as I will show you guys whatever it is I get to buy.

Running as a Lifestyle

Today, I've decided to make running a part of my life. It has been actually for quite some time, but now I want to take it seriously.

Eight years ago, I was 20 and running was just a part of my routine to keep myself healthy and fit. Truth is, the reason why I kept myself fit was because of the aesthetic aspect of being fit. I was young and single and I wanted to look good. So aside from weight training, I ran to keep my bodyfat low.

Years went by and I took up boxing as a sport. It was fun because I'm a fight fan myself. Part of training in boxing was running to keep my stamina at an optimum level. After a few years, I lost focus on keeping myself fit because of work demands and workplace proximity. I drove to and from work for at least 3 hours a day and I was usually too tired to box or run before or after work. Needless to say, I packed a few pounds. From 170lbs, I got to 180lbs.

A year after, I got married and I didn't have time anymore to keep boxing regularly. I boxed only maybe once or twice a month and my eating habits worsened. Another year and our awesome firstborn arrived. My priorities changed again and I forgot about what it's like to be fit.

Here I am now, 28 years old and 210lbs. Today I received my annual physical exam results and it turns out I'm Level 1 Obese. I've never been so unhealthy in my life. This made me decide that I should start changing my lifestyle seriously if I want to live longer to see my son get married and have children.

The thing is, I always knew what to do to get fit again, but what's missing is that discipline and self-control that I used to have to keep me in the right direction. I ran last Sunday and I realized how unfit I've really been. I couldn't run continuously to cover long distances and I easily gassed out when I run fast. It's sad yet it gives me more fuel for this newfound passion to get fit again.

Why I chose running to be my main tool to get fit again? It's not because it's a growing fad here in the Philippines. Running is easy. It's not too costly. All you need is a good pair of running shoes and you're good to go. It even gives you time to be with yourself. Plus, it's also one sport I can easily do with my wife. There are a whole lot of other good reasons that are too obvious for me to enumerate but to sum it all up, running is a good way to keep pushing myself towards my goal.

In this blog, I'll be recording my progress, the places where I will run, the people that I meet, stuff that I learn, and a whole lot of other things that has anything to do with my brand new passion for running. I hope some people could even find a bit of encouragement reading my blog.

This will be all for now. Updates will be at least once a week. Stay tuned and keep running.