— CiaoCatherine

(source)

Disclaimer: Do not read on if you do not want to read about sinuses, or boobs. If neither of these things bother you, solider forth!

The new shoes? A dream. Shin splints significantly reduced. I also realized since last writing that my previous pair of shoes were EIGHT years old, not five. I was so excited that I didn’t take a day off last week, and two nights in a row I went to bed with sharp shin pain, which I took as a warning sign to take a day off. And what should happen? Boom, second epic sinus infection this winter manifests on my rest day. Last time this happened, I continued running when the congestion was confined to my skull, but I’m afraid it’s moving to my chest, and this makes breathing deeply impossible. I don’t like taking more than one day “off” in a row, as I find it’s harder to get back to the distance I’d worked up to, but as someone who has been hospitalized for pneumonia more than once, and someone lacking decent health care options, I’ve got to play it safe.

So, upgrading the footwear situation has demonstrated immense benefits in just a week. Next on the docket is sports bras. I have had the same Target sports bras since college, which are fine for light cardio or weight lifting, but do nothing in terms of minimizing movement during “high impact” exercising. Since I’ve been running, I’ve resorted to some compression bras from another big-box-retailer-that-shall-remain-nameless (I’m from Florida, what do you want from me?) which are so restrictive I feel like I’m binding my chest. Usually I have to double up with two bras. Moving Comfort has some rave reviews by ladies with larger cup-sizes, and you can even order in your actual bra size. Do you understand how hard it is to find high-impact sports bras in a D-cup? Very, very hard. I think most manufacturers give up. I’ll be testing out some of their styles this week and will hopefully find a winner soon.

My running routine is nothing like the above image (although I am intrigued by running dresses).

I buy everything online. I pride myself on my ability to stalk items on eBay until I can snap up at a lower cost , or use my Amazon Prime membership to get staples sent to my door (PSA: Have toilet paper sent to your house. Then you never have to lug it home from the store again! You’re welcome.). I know what sizes in what brands of shoes, bras, clothing, etc. fit me, so I don’t always feel the need to try things on. But I know that running shoes are a different matter, so I braced myself for an in-person hard sell.

For the last two months, I’ve been running pretty consistently wearing the same pair of running shoes I purchased at some point in college, which means they are at least five years old. It’s recommended that you replace running shoes every 300 miles clocked, or every 6 months. In the last week, I’ve developed shin splints. Not much was different–I’ve slowly been increasing my speed and mileage by the recommended ratios, and for the most part I run the same handful of paths on city blocks. Then it occurred to my equipment, not my technique, might be my problem.

After a day of polling friends in DC, I decided to give Fleet Feet DC a try. A family-owned local franchise, it’s been run by the parents of former mayor Adrian Fenty since 1984 (They even have a photo of him finishing the NY Marathon on the wall behind the register – I think that’s kind of adorable.) The very kind Roger spent nearly an hour (!) assessing how I run (I’m sure I looked a sight running up and down Columbia road in running shoes and a tea-length skirt) and helping me try different shoes to compensate for my pronation. He also showed me a different way to lace my shoes, which sounds insignificant but OH MAN it completely changes the way the shoes fit in the back. I have no idea what it’s called, but I’ll figure it out and share here later.

Yes, I settled on a pair. I’ll be taking them out for a spin today, and will have a full report next week.