They're baaa-aack!

Yes, the evil has returned. What evil might you ask? Shin splints. At least, I'm pretty sure it's shin splints. I had a minor panic attack at work yesterday when I thought I might have compartment syndrome. Here's why. The picture is pretty awful and that's what they have to do to fix it. But, I am about 99% positive I'm experiencing shin splints again. Now I understand why doctors hate the internet and people who self-diagnose. They, just like I did, tend to jump to the worst-case-scenario.

Thursday I had a 4-mile run scheduled. This is now ridiculously easy. That is unless your legs feel like they're going to explode. Mine felt like I stepped on a land mine with each stride. This happened right from the beginning, all the way up to the first mile, when I decided to stop and stretch out. It didn't help. I hobbled the mile back to my office. I probably looked like a giant loser. People probably thought I was a big tool walking along the river in my sports bra and running tights. Who goes for a leisurely stroll in clothes like that? I mean seriously! It took me under 10 minutes to run the mile but over 20 to walk back. Damn what a waste of time. I came home and iced the shins. They seemed to improve.

Now, I usually have something to blame the shin splints on. This time is no different but I'm not sure I'm actually addressing the underlying cause of the problem. I did push myself really hard to keep under a 10 minute-mile pace in my 7-mile run on Wednesday. It was quite hot that day. My legs started to feel a little off after that run, but they seemed fine. Thursday was the first day of the week that I got to wear normal clothes to work. We'd just wrapped up an event the week before and spent Monday through Wednesday unloading trucks in our warehouse. So, I popped on a pair of heels on Thursday. That is not happening ever again after a long-ish run. Ever. I don't think that helped at all with recovery.

I also stopped running on the dirt paths instead of the asphalt. That was moronic. I will say that the asphalt is easier to run on from a fatigue point of view because the dirt paths are uneven and sometimes sandy. But, my legs will appreciate it much more if I run on the dirt. Back to the dirt I go.

I'm a little nervous because tomorrow is a 15-mile run. Michelle and I are doing it together which is helpful. However, these legs might not hold out. Luckily she's prepared for me to collapse in a heap at some point during the run. I've given her fair warning. But, to keep that from happening, I'm doing this for 20 minutes, every 3 hours today:

DG's if you're reading this, that IS an Anchora on my coffee table, and book club members, that IS a half read copy of "State of Wonder." I'm splitting time between that and the book below it, "The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest."

Ice packs held on to my legs via plastic wrap. I'm reminded of the time I spent in the athletic training office after high school cross country work outs. Only they used straight up bags of ice and there was no barrier between skin and ice. Kind of dangerous now that I think about it, but it worked. I remember driving home with those bags of ice taped to my shins. It was especially fun because I drove a manual and slamming down on the clutch jostled the ice quite a bit.

Today, I'm taking it easy. There was supposed to be a trip to the lake planed for some tubing and wakeboarding, but I think that has gotten cancelled due to a high level of "festivity" at a friend's birthday party last night. I'm not sure my friends are even out of bed yet. So, instead of that, I might have a cupcake. Lately I've been a little obsessed and have been spending time coming up with new flavors. Last night for the party, I developed pink lemonade, and it looks a little something like this:

Pink lemonade cupcake with lemon buttercream frosting.

Last week it was margarita and looked like this:

Margarita cupcake with tequila-lime frosting.

I'm hoping these shin splints clear up this weekend. Wish me luck on 15 miles tomorrow. Maybe I can run with the ice packs on my legs...

Half Marathon

Well, well, well. Here I am, 8 weeks into my marathon training. Today was a true test of endurance. Half marathon. Well, ok, the training schedule said 13 miles. A half marathon is 13.1. We ended up going about 13.5. But shhh, don't tell my running partner. I don't think she'll like knowing that I accidentally tacked on an extra half mile.

Now, usually I run alone. Actually for this training I have exclusively ran alone. The reason for this is I don't have any friends who 1.) are training for a marathon or 2.) if they are, run the same speed I do. I've gone on one 6-mile run with Erich and I'm pretty sure he was bored as heck with my slow speed, despite the fact that he is not, "a runner." But, since this was going to be quite the milestone in my training, I thought I should find myself a buddy. It made most sense to turn to my new co-worker, Michelle, who is also participating in Run to Stop MS. We talk almost daily about our training. We talk about our accomplishments, downfalls and straight up disasters during our runs. We also happen to run at the same pace. Woot!

We scheduled our run to be at 6:30 a.m. Michelle coaches a high school soccer team in one of the suburbs and had a game at 11:15. This meant we had to start early. It was a little difficult for me because I had to "work" until 11:30 p.m. Saturday night at the U2 concert at TCF Bank Stadium. I say "work" because all I was doing was answering questions about the facility and this was the view from my post. Let's just say I got paid $10/hour to watch the greatest rock show I've ever seen. Yes, the stage is a giant space claw, and yes it was even fun when it started pouring rain.

Surprisingly, I didn't have a tough time getting up and out the door. We met at Minnehaha Park, my favorite place to start a run, and were on our way. The weather was in the 60's while we ran and boy did that make all the difference! Holy cow. No instant sweat today! I barely had to use my Amphipod, unlike last Sunday when I had to refill at each drinking fountain (bubbler?) I came across. Today was absolutely gorgeous for running.

Since running cross country in high school, I've known that running with a buddy helps with motivation. I'm pretty competitive with myself, and constantly challenge myself to push a little harder in my runs if I'm feeling good, but having someone with you offers a completely different type of encouragement. Just knowing someone is there and probably feeling the way you do is helpful. Having someone to talk to makes the miles fly by. Now, I'm not usually one to talk during my runs. I'm typically huffing and puffing too much to do any sort of talking. Not today. Today we talked about all sorts of things. We talked about why we're crazy for doing this, Michelle's love life, and stuff at work. Before I knew it, we were halfway done. We continued to talk for most of the other half. You could tell when we were getting tired when it gradually got quieter at the end of the run. The last mile or so we were really pushing each other along. I felt like I was back on Coach Greeno's cross country team. When we finally reached the end, we gave each other big high fives and congratulated each other on a job well done.

Now, I'm not saying that it was suddenly easy because I had someone with me. But, it was certainly easier. I found myself having less negative thoughts about the course and how I was feeling. I was either too distracted, or too busy encouraging Michelle along to have those thoughts. Telling her that the impending hill wasn't so bad made me actually believe it myslef. We now have a standing date each week to do our long runs together. Next week it's only ten miles. Hah, only! We're also going to be running together during the marathon which is such a relief. Michelle is a pro when it comes to hills despite her displeasure upon approaching them. I am not so much. She just powers up them, with seemingly no trouble. I think she has some things to teach me. :)

Upon returning home and posting our accomplishment on Facebook, my friend, Erin, from the National MS Society, Illinois Chapter asked if I want to participate in the Madison Mini Marathon. A half marathon on August 29th, in Madison, WI. I told her I'd think about it. But, the more I think about it, the more fun I think it would be. I haven't seen her since last summer and would love to get in a long road race. Hopefully It works out. I'm having more positive thoughts about it now than I was 12 hours ago. :)

The upcoming week is a "step back" week. I run 3-7-4 on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, then 10 on Sunday. I'm looking forward to a little bit of rest. The following week peaks at 15 miles. 15! That'll be over half of the marathon. I'm really excited to see how well I do in the upcoming weeks as I approach my peak training mileage of 20 miles.

Further than Ever

I've been incredibly remiss in my postings lately. Mostly I haven't had a lot to talk about and when I did, I've been quite busy. Since my last post I've been through 4th of July festivities, a 10-mile run, my farthest since my 18th birthday, and a 12-miler in over 80 degree heat with 75% humidity. Whew!

It's become a tradition for Erich, my friends and I to head up to my friend's parents for the 4th of July. Jenna's parents live on a lake in Detroit Lakes, MN. For the past three years we've gone up there and spent the weekend. We tube down the Ottertail River while toting a cooler of beer and various mixed drinks with us. We also play plenty of yard games and cook out. Needless to say, this wasn't a big weekend for training. I pretty much postponed my long run until we returned and I had a day off. Traveling, high heat, drinking and all around "vacation time" wasn't great for fitting in some runs. But, despite that, it was such a great weekend. I already want to go back so I may have to plan a late summer visit with Jenna. :)

After returning from up north, I was facing a 10-mile run. I planned my route and set out on a Tuesday morning after dropping Erich off at work. Luckily for me we got both the 4th and the 5th off so I had time to get in this run. The last time I had run 10 miles was on my 18th birthday. I vividly remember arriving at cross country practice that day to find out that on the day I became a legal adult, I'd get to celebrate by running 10 miles. Swell. Now, at 25 it was even more difficult. The run was tiring that's for sure, however not awful. I got done and felt pretty good. During this run I decided that I needed to procure some sort of hydration belt.

After a couple more weeks of small training runs, today I faced the longest run I've ever had in my 25-year existence. 12 miles. In preparation, I went out and bought this:

It turned out to be a very good purchase. The temps were in the 80's with 60% humidity at 7:00 this morning when I took off. I also picked up some body glide and some GU gels to try out. I thought the hydration belt would annoy the crap out of me during the run. Having extra things on my body is always annoying to me, however this really didn't bother me at all. Maybe it's because I knew it was ultimately good for me. I'd read many reviews and consulted many other runners to find the best hydration belt available. This one had some bad reviews regarding the bottles falling off since they snap in. However it came recommended by a couple of people, as well as the guy working at Marathon Sports. It was also the most comfortable. Turns out I made a great choice. I'm very happy with my purchase. I got Body Glide because chafing is a real issue with most runners. I have some pretty good thighs so I'm hoping to try it out there. Also my toes have been rubbing quite a bit so today, I put it all over and between my toes. It was incredibly helpful and I highly recommend it to anyone who's having problems with chafing or rubbing to pick some up and use it. It really works wonders. Lastly I used some GU energy gel. After almost bonking on a mere 7-mile run, I took all precautions to not have that happen again. In addition to eating good meals, I also packed a couple of these pretty foil packets. Well, they may look nice on the outside but they are disgusting on the inside. I tried a lemon-lime variety. it was not very lemon-limey. I don't really know how to describe the taste, other than terrible. Good thing I had water and Gatorade on me to wash it down. But, despite this, it turned out to be helpful and I had enough energy to get through the run. I have a berry-flavored GU saved for my next long run, which happens to be next week, when I run a half marathon for my training. Thankfully, my co-worker and I have decided to do this together to help each other along. 

For now, there are other huge feats of athleticism being broadcast around the world, specifically the Women's World Cup so I think I'm going to watch that. GO USA!!!

9th graders and 9 miles

Well, well, well, I've been a bit absent lately. I try to not post unless I have something really good to post about. I leave the menial posts for Facebook. My biggest accomplishment up until the past week was making some outrageously good buffalo wings, complete with homemade sauce. The real kind, not the battered, boneless kind. That accomplishment didn't really need a full blog post dedicated to it though. You can find the picture of them on Facebook HERE. Almost blogger worthy but since this is a running blog, that didn't really make much sense.

In the running world, here is what I've been up to. Last week's long run was a step-back run of 5 miles. You see I progress for two weeks, then step back for the third. Apparently this prevents over-training. I did two laps around Lake Nokomis in south Minneapolis. It ended up being just over 5 miles. The weather was great. It was pretty overcast and humid but I can handle humidity when the sun isn't shining and it's just barely in the 70's. Unfortunately my neighborhood doesn't have great areas in which to run. There are streets and such but they're pretty boring and quite hilly. I typically drive to the Uptown lakes area or somewhere on the River Road for my long runs.

Well, this past week was pretty lame when it came to running. You see, I spent all week as a camp counselor at MS Youth Camp. It's a camp we put on for kids who have parents living with multiple sclerosis. Often these kids take on a lot in their lives. In addition to being a normal kid they help out with housework, grocery shopping and sometimes are caregivers for their parent with MS. The camp gives them a chance to connect with other kids like them as well as have some time away from the stresses in their life. It's a great camp and is probably the reason I decided to participate in Run to Stop MS. I was able to attend last year because they needed more counselors. I requested to return this year and I'm really happy that I did.

This year I again had middle schoolers. Last year I had a mix of 8th and 9th grade. This year I had all 9th graders. The week got off to a rough start, which is pretty normal for the middle schoolers. They take a while to get settled in and get used to each other and to their counselors. Needless to say, the first and second nights were a little late. But, we got through the week and I became much closer with my campers than I did last year and I hope I was able to be a positive role model for them through the week.

Because of the late nights, it made it really difficult to get up early and run. :( There are optional early morning activities that campers (and counselors) can participate in before breakfast. They included a polar bear splash into the lake, yoga, or going for a short run. I decided to join in on the run, along with one of my campers. We only did a quick 1.5 miles on Tuesday. I did not make it up at all on Wednesday or Thursday to get out to run. I was just too darn tired. But, that's ok. I think I will be just fine.

Despite not running this week, I got out today for the longest run I've been on since I ran on the Lincoln High School cross country team my senior year of high school. This was the longest run since a 10-miler I did on my 18th birthday. I did a 9-miler today on the River Road in Minneapolis and St. Paul. I started at Minnehaha Park in south Minneapolis and ran north along the river, almost to downtown. I crossed the Mississippi river via Franklin Ave and ran south along the river in St. Paul and back across the Mississippi to Minnehaha Park. The run was lovely. I felt great during the whole thing. I ran most of it on the grass next to the path so I had no shin splints. I'm hoping my ankles get stronger from that because they get a little achy now that I'm running on the uneven grass.

According to my mileage counter, I've run 137 miles since I started keeping track. Holy crap! That's a lot of miles! I know that number is really going to grow as my mileage increases over the summer. It'll be fun to see how far I'll end up running when this is all over. Any guesses?

Here's looking to a great week of training ahead!

$2.4 Million

You'll remember that about a week ago I was really having some problems with shin splints. I decided to spend the last week resting and not running. Now, I will be honest and say that what I did do was not exactly restful. This past weekend, the National MS Society, Minnesota Chapter put on the Bike MS: C.H. Robinson Worldwide MS 150 Ride 2011. Big name, even bigger event. About 3,400 cyclists mounted their saddles in Proctor, MN (near Duluth) for a 150 mile journey back to the Twin Cities. 75 miles on Saturday, 75 miles on Sunday. We have an overnight in Hinckley, MN at the Grand Casino. So far we have about $2 million turned in from participants. Our goal is $2.4 million. Participants have until about mid-July to get all of their money in. I think we'll make it!

Team Cargill leads off the start of Bike MS: C.H. Robinson Worldwide MS 150 Ride 2011. Team Cargill has raised almost $233,000 as a team this year!

When we break for the night in Hinckley, all of the bikes get loaded into a bike corral where they are guarded by a security guard all night. 

This is about half of the bikes in our bike corral. The numbered rows go up to 50. At least I made signs for up to 50. It's possible that we had to hand write more. That's a lot of bikes!

So, with this big of an event going on, you can imagine that I wouldn't actually get to rest much. We load 8 26-foot trucks the week prior to the event. Then, we kick it off on Friday by loading all of those bikes onto 21 semi trucks, and the participants on chartered buses to take them up to the Duluth area. Saturday morning I was up at 3:30 a.m. to see the riders off and get them on the route by 6:30 a.m. A mere 3 years ago, I would have been going to bed at this time. That evening we had our grand party in Hinckley, complete with a catered meal from Buca di Beppo. They were great and gave us the meal at cost. Mmmmmm...Buca. Sunday the riders returned to Century College in White Bear lake for a grand finish. 

Needless to say, I had little sleep and was on my feet for pretty much all of the weekend. However, it was totally worth it to help these riders making this journey to help end MS. 

Today, I had a kickball game. Yes, I play on a kickball team. Nothing better than adults playing a game meant for a playground. It was the first time I'd done any sort of running since Tuesday and I have to say it was awesome. Despite the rough week and weekend, I had nearly zero leg pain. I'm pretty stoked to go on my short 3-mile run tomorrow and see how quickly I can complete it. The temps are supposed to be great but the forecast calls for scattered storms in the afternoon. Hopefully I there is a 25-30 minute window without storms to fit in this run. 

Lately, because of my extensive leg pain, it's been taking me about 28 minutes to run 3 miles. Pretty sad and lame. Tomorrow I'm shooting for closer to 26. I'd really like to drop that time down to about 24 minutes by August. I'll be running in the grass from here on to see if that helps soften the impact. Wish me luck!

Who turned up the heat?

I'm definitely not complaining. Bring it on! Today's high in Minneapolis was 102 degrees. Booyah. It's about time we had some real summer weather. Yesterday it was in the upper 90's and today, this. Granted, I spent my days in our warehouse, loading trucks for our MS 150 coming up this weekend, but it wasn't so bad. I am a little more tired than usual now that I'm home and sitting down. Although, that could be due to the fact that I got up early to run today.

Now, if you know me at all, you know I don't like mornings. Though, I will say I'm getting better with age. I got up around 5:45 today to get out and bet the heat for a short 3-mile run. I'm sad to say my leg pain is back. Blast! Give me a break already! I think I have medial tibial stress syndrome. In layman's terms, shin splints. Hooray. :( On Sunday they didn't bother me and I think it's do to the fact that I had my brand new shoes, ran on asphalt instead of concrete, rested for 2 days prior and I ran on flat surfaces. That wasn't really the case today.

Unfortunately for me, I think that means I'm going to have to take the remainder of the week off from running. Fortunately, I'd already had it built into my training plan to repeat this week due to our MS 150. I will also be investing in ice packs and a large amount of ibuprofen to see if those help at all. I remember back in high school when I used to drive home from cross country practice with ice taped to my shins. I'm thinking of doing something similar to that again.

Now, hopefully the week off will help. If it doesn't, I'm not quite sure what I'll do. I might have to take an extra rest day each week or something. Not cool. I will say though that the biggest recommendation by healthcare professionals is to rest and ice. So, if you find yourself with shin splints, I highly encourage you to rest up and don't continue with your training until it is no longer painful to do so.

All this being said, you probably won't hear from me in a while. I won't have much to report on since I won't be running. Maybe now is the time to do an entry on stretching...

All about shoes: My new ones, and how to properly fit yours.

I just completed a 7-mile run and feel fantastic!

Remember how I've been saying I need new shoes? Well, after Thursday's grueling 3-mile run I decided it absolutely had to happen. The fact that I just described a 3-mile run as grueling is a pretty clear indication that something needed to change. Also, as I was walking around our parking lot for a cool down, I must have been wincing in pain (and cursing my shoes, literally) because a guy in his apartment looked down on me and asked if I was alright. I felt a little foolish and thought, "Whitney, you get paid on Friday. You must get new shoes before you go out on a long run this weekend." That my friends, is what I did. During my lunch hour, I took a trip to Marathon Sports in south Minneapolis. This is by far my favorite place to buy running gear. The people are knowledgeable and friendly at the store. They're all trained on how to appropriately fit a running shoe on someone, and they have a lot of good tips. Also, they partner with many races in the area and last but not least, support the MS Society through offering a 30% discount to anyone who is participating in Run to Stop MS (like me) or Challenge Walk MS. Sweet deal! My normally $140 running shoes were only $98! That's pretty good. I'll take a $42 discount any day. Going to get the new shoes lead me to being the prime candidate to go pick up and drop off some materials at PostNet for work which then lead me to getting to have Punch Pizza for lunch. Let's just say the shoes and pizza made Friday a good day.

This weekend I had a 7-mile run in my training schedule. The perfect distance is around Lake Calhoun, then to Lake Harriet around that, and back. Today was the best I've felt running in a really long time. I had a small amount of pain in my legs when I started but after a couple of minutes it was gone. Thank you new shoes! Just look how happy my feet were upon returning home after the run:

In honor of my new shoes, I shall give you some tips for getting yourself some good running shoes. There are a lot of things to consider so pay attention.

Thanks to a new-ish book called "Born to Run" the running world has been taken by storm by a movement called, "minimalist running" or "natural running" or even "barefoot running." Sound pretty hippy-like to you? Yeah, it kind of is. The premise of the book is that there's a tribe in Mexico, way up in the mountains, whose members run daily. They run to get from place to place and to follow food and whatnot. They literally can run over a hundred miles a day. But the key is, they don't wear shoes. If they do, they wear huarache-type sandals. How do they get so many miles out of their legs without wearing shoes? Well, running barefoot changes how your foot hits the ground. You naturally land on your midsole or forefoot, which absorbs shock a little differently. Now, Born to Run and many of the minimalist running promoters claim that being barefoot is the key to the tribes ability to run far and wide. Well, I have been a little skeptical of this. Let's keep in mind that most of us don't live in the mountainous region of Mexico. I personally live in Minneapolis. A city. With lots and lots of pavement. My opinion is that the key to their running is not the fact that they are barefoot, but the fact that they are running on dirt. Dirt is significantly softer than concrete or asphalt pavement. This is why there is always a little path in the grass next to the running trails in Minneapolis. People follow the trails but run in the grass/dirt. It just doesn't seem like a viable long-term solution to me. Now, if I were to be running on grass or dirt all the time, including during the marathon, I might buy a pair of gorilla shoes. That's what I like to call the Vibram Five Finger shoes. Click on the link and you'll understand why. I brought this up to the guy who was assisting me at Marathon Sports and he actually confirmed what I'd said. He said, "If you want to use a minimalist shoe every once in a while, it's probably fine. But if you are running multiple days a week and want to get 30 years out of your legs, you should probably stick with a good running shoe that fits properly." I can get on board with that, especially since I run in a city, with sidewalks and roads, that also happens to be cold 6 months out of the year. Here's a good article from the Huffington Post, written by a doctor, to support my general thesis.

So, what does a properly fitting running shoe look like?

Well, first a person needs to determine the type of foot they have. Basically a person falls into one of three categories or somewhere between: someone with high arches (supinator), someone with low arches or flatter feet (pronator), or someone with neutral arches. The type of foot you have determines what happens to your foot when it hits the ground while walking or running without shoes on. My feet have neutral to low arches. My feet pronate, or turn in/flatten out when I go from heel strike to toe off. Thusly, I wear shoes that have support in the midsole area to prevent that. If you look at the picture of my new shoes, you'll notice that that area of the sole of my shoe is gray. That's the firmer foam giving me more support. The bottom of my shoe also has a plastic piece that runs across the foot at about the midsole. This offers more support. For someone who pronates even more than I do, the plastic piece tends to be larger and the firmer foam covers more area. For someone who has high arches and supinates, there is no piece of plastic and no foam support. The shoe will easily twist if you held it in your hands and twisted it. This allows the high arched person to collapse a bit on their midfoot as they run/walk.

Secondly, you'll want to find a pair of shoes that fit the width and length of your foot. This is especially important in what is called the "footbed" of the shoe. It's the area between the laces and the toe of your foot. If this area is too snug, you could end up with some nasty blisters and other painful foot problems. The rest of the shoe can typically be adjusted by the laces, especially if you are lacing them correctly. I'll talk about that at the end. For length, you'll typically want a half to a full size larger than you wear for dress shoes.

The last thing to look for in a shoe is how long a shoe will last. You should be able to get 300-500 miles out of a pair of shoes. There is a large window because it depends on your running style, your weight and a couple of other factors. For example heavier people will need to replace shoes more quickly. Also, if you use your shoes for anything other than running (which I DO NOT RECOMMEND) you'll need to buy new shoes sooner. So, which shoes last the longest? Well, it's a little tough because since people require different types of shoes, different brands work differently for different people. I for one cannot stand how Brooks feel on my feet, but Erich loves them. I also have a friend who only buys Nike running shoes. They work for her I wouldn't touch a pair of Nikes with a ten foot pole. I personally think they're cheaply made (probably due to those sweat shops) and don't offer nearly enough support and thusly, don't last very long. Common brands of running shoes are:

Nike (Katie's favorite)
Mizuno (my sister's favorite)
Brooks (Erich's favorite)
Addidas (My boss' favorite)
Asics (Mine and a lot of other runners favorite)
New Balance
Saucony (Many peoples I know favorite)

Last time I bought shoes, I almost bought a pair of Sauconys. But, since I knew the Asics Gel Kayano worked, I figured I would't mess with it. My recommendation is to try many brands to see which works for you. When you find a pair, stick with it.

This brings me to my last point. Buy your shoes at a store that is specifically focused on running/walking gear! If my brother's girlfriend is reading this, she might be a little annoyed because she works for Foot Locker. Well, sorry Victoria, I'm not a Foot Locker fan. This goes for Journey's, The Finish Line and department stores as well. I say this because the people at these stores typically do not know how to properly fit a foot. All they want is to make a sale and they'll let you pick the shoe based on the size, how it looks and how it feels when you do a lap around their store. Any new shoe will feel good at that point. Someone from a specialty store will analyze your foot and gait and point you in the right direction for shoes. If you have a pair of running shoes that you are replacing, bring those to the store as well. The specialist will be able to look at the wear pattern on the bottom and tell you if they worked correctly for you or not. Although, if they didn't, your body will tell you as well. I will say that once you find a shoe that works for you and you find it cheaper at one of the above mentioned stores or online, feel free to buy it there, but only if you've been properly fitted elsewhere. Be sure to get re-fitted every once in a while just to be sure your feet haven't changed, which they can with age and depending on your profession and what other types of shoes you wear.

Big Important Note: If your shoes fit correctly, you will not need to break them in! You can head straight out for a run in them.

Once you get your shoes home you'll want to be sure you've laced them correctly. You might think to yourself, "Don't I just lace them up like normal, tie and be on my way?" Well yes and no. Yes you mostly lace them up at normal, but when you get to the end of lacing, you'll notice there's one last hole that's always set back a little far and if you lace into it you tend to cut off circulation from your foot. Well that is because you're not lacing correctly. Here are my steps to lacing:

1. Lace your shoes as you normally would, stopping with the hole just before the very last one.
2. Take the lace on the right side and put it through the very last hole on the right side. Yes, the same side. You should put it from the top down. Don't come up from the bottom. This should form a nice little loop.
3. Repeat with the left side.
4. Then, take the laces and put them through the loops on opposite sides. Right lace into left loop, left lace into right loop
5. Tighten shoes to be comfortable and supportive, then tie. I always double knot. When you tie, the loops you created shouldn't quite touch or overlap.

When done, your shoes should look like this:

When tied on your foot, it will look like this:

Now you are armed with everything you need to get properly fitted shoes. I assure you, it will be well worth the time and money if you are planning on doing a lot of running. In my area, the upcoming week looks to be quite beautiful. A little warm but beautiful. Happy trails!