Highs and lows again this week!  I’m enjoying the fartlek and finding it pain free, but on the long runs my achilles is hurting so much I have to stop.

Week 3:

• Monday: jog 20 – 10 minutes to gym, 1 hour weights (lower body), 10 minutes home
• Tuesday: fartlek 45 minutes at the race course, no problems at all
• Wednesday: jog 10, run 35 minutes.  This was a terrible outing, I had to stop 5 times to stretch my lower calf and came home utterly demoralised
• Thursday: swapped a combination of running and sprints for a 48 minutes spin class at Energise, York
• Friday: jog 20 – 10 minutes to gym, 1 hour weights (chest), 10 minutes home
• Saturday: rest, and a few beers
• Sunday: fartlek 70 minutes at York race course, no problems at all

On Saturday I took a trip to York Sweatshop to see if they could shed any light on my leg pain.  The staff there were great – they are very knowledgeable about running and really know their gear.

I explained that the only thing different was my new trainers, a pair of Asics I’d picked up cheap somewhere.  The guy from Sweatshop spotted that I was wearing a high support shoe, more suitable for a pronator (someone whose foot rolls when they run) than a neutral runner like me.

He popped me on the treadmill in some neutral shoes to check my gait, and confirmed I’m a neutral runner.  I then spent half an hour running round the car park in 6 pairs of shoes before settling on a pair of Brooks.  I’ll do a full review on these soon.

Trainers from places like Sweatshop and Up and Running aren’t cheap, but the advice you get and the help from the staff is great value.  It’s not totally confirmed yet as I need to do some pain free runs, but it appears I’ve been suffering for trying to pick up some cheap trainers and getting completely the wrong ones.  The shoes were pushing my foot into the wrong position trying to correct a problem that isn’t there.

Sweatshop also offer a 30 day guarantee.  Sometimes it’s hard to tell if trainers are right for you until you’ve done a few miles in them, and knowing you can take them back if they rub or don’t feel right is great peace of mind when you’re spending so much money.

I know some runners can go quite happily in a pair of £10 trainers from a regular shop, but I’ve generally had a better experience when I get the advice from the staff in the shop.  When you think about the miles you’ll be logging in them, the money doesn’t seem like a bad investment.