The Day After

Here we are before heading out for some morning exercise. I was interested in seeing how my body felt. Once we got out of the paved pathway in front of the hotel we walked a bit and then I decided to kick it up a little. That didn't last long. Even though nothing is "painful" I'm sore enough to not want to injure anything. It just felt great to be out in the ocean air. We walked 2 miles before heading back to find some breakfast.

One of the reasons we were excited was for the hotel bed. Not for the reasons you are thinking either :) Our mattress at home is in desperate need of being replaced. It has been causing us some back issues so we were excited to sleep on a good mattress. After last night I think the hotel mattress caused more soreness than my run did. It was terrible.

Pain issues I'm having today are ~ soreness on the balls of my feet, I have a pressure point on the top of my left foot that sometimes gets irritated, and my back/kidney area is extremely sore. I'm sure that has to do with the lack of water on the course. All of these to me are very minor issues. No blisters or major knee issues so that is a blessing.

Here's a pic of the tech finisher's shirt, my race bib, and medal.

I have been in a HUGE need for new shoes for a very long time. I'm sure that is also contributing to my knee issues. We decided to loop through Portland on the way home to see what we could find. We don't have much of a selection where we live.

I googled running stores and we decided to try Portland Running Company. I'm so glad we did. From the minute we came in the store I had one on one treatment. They also offered us both bottled water right away. Instant brownie points :) After a few questions and a look at my current shoes, Joe, had chosen several shoes for me to try. First, I have to admit that he was appalled at the shoe I was currently running in. Apparently, it is all wrong for me. He said he didn't even know how I was walking after running a 1/2 the day before. He had me run in each shoe to evaluate me in them. Another employee watched me run once and immediately asked me if I had knee issues. Crazy what happens when you get around people who know what they're doing. He knew I liked ASICS so he had me try those, Saucony, & Brooks. The Saucony fit a bit loose. We had it narrowed down to the ASICS and Brooks. I actually was leaning towards the Brooks pair but he thought the ASICS would actually be a little more helpful since I'm trying to recover from my knee issues.

At the past two Portland Marathon Expos I had my gait evaluated and they said I was neutral to slightly pronated. As of today the diagnosis is over-pronated. Between that and my knees we have decided on these.

ASICS Gel-Foundation 9

They are supposed to offer maximum support for moderate to severe over-pronators. I'm hoping for some good results with these.

These were my runners up. Maybe they will have them at the Expo in Seattle.

BROOKS TRANCE 9

If you are ever in Portland, I highly recommend The Portland Running Company. Knowledge and real customer service. Since I came from so far away he even gave me 10% off. What a deal. I can't wait to take them on a real test run.