New Shoe Diary

I took my new training shoes to the Aquatic Centre this morning and walked over four miles on the treadmill. I did just under one mile, got off to turn the fan on, and inadvertently turned the treadmill off, technologically challenged as I am - so I turned it back on and did another 3.25 miles, just to be sure I had made it over the four-mile mark. A couple of times during the walk, I increased the speed to 4 mph for 1/2 a mile.

The shoes: At the beginning - at least for the first mile - I felt as if I had something in my right shoe, close to the outer margin of the ball of my foot. That feeling did ease up considerably in the course of the walk. For a while, my left foot felt a bit numb, but that passed as well, and overall I was very pleased. I think I can resolve the issues I had by learning to tie my shoes. It's never too late, I hope. It occurred to me that the socks I wear are quite thin, as well - so I'll try wearing something a little thicker.

After the walk I stretched a little, worked out on the lat pulldown, the shoulder press, and the Roman chair, then spent the last ten minutes doing some serious stretching. I came away feeling much more limber than usual.

As I walked, I tried with some success to keep my arms engaged, but from time to time I just had to lower them for a rest. I was working on racewalk form, but I don't think I carried it off. I think I'll get somebody to videotape me while I walk. My camera will do two-minute videos. If I have a look at my form, I can make some corrections. At the moment I feel very awkward. OTOH, maybe you just can't racewalk correctly on a treadmill. Better check that out.

My pre-workout breakfast was half a banana again. That seems to work very well for me. I'm only now (11 am) beginning to feel that I need a bowl of Spoon Size Shredded Wheat. I am trying to figure out what I need to eat before I go out to race, and the 1/2 banana seems to fit the bill. As I start walking longer distances, I'll start carrying a Clif bar or something similar to eat during the walk.

You know what the best part of working out is? The focus. During my stretch, I suddenly realized I had been thinking of nothing except stretching this muscle, stretching that muscle. The realization came when I noticed a group of people with MS working out nearby. I started to reflect on how lucky I am, and that was when I realized I had been totally absorbed in my workout. Cool.