On With The Shoe

As I mentioned in my previous blog entry, I was considering buying a new pair of running shoes to replace my current pair that were still in good condition but probably needed replacing, just to be on the safe side. Yesterday I bought a new pair of running shoes from the same shop that I had bought my old pair, some 18 months ago. I felt the shop had given me some useful advice in buying my shoes last time and felt comfortable going back there again.

I tried on a few pairs of size nine running shoes from a variety of different brands but in the end, went for the Saucony (I don't know if it's pronounced Sau-KOH-nee, Sau-son-NEE, or Sau-SOH-nee; I've only ever seen that name written down, and the lady in the shop didn't know what the pronunciation was either).

My old Mizuno

My new Saucony

The new shoes were very comfortable and I noticed that they felt padded and were cushioning my feet more than my old ones, so clearly the padding had been significantly worn away in the older shoes. I ran for a few miles in the new shoes so as to wear into them. Haven't completely shaken off the slight foot injury that I picked up last week but it is improving. With only about forty days to go until the marathon, I am desperately trying to avoid getting injured this close to the race. So I need to compromise between doing my training and resting and taking it easy.

My shoes aren't the only piece of running gear that's new - I also received my running vest with my chosen charity's name on it. Here's a picture of me modelling it (excuse the hair, I've been meaning to get it cut - the hair on my head, that is):

Me sporting my running vest for this year's marathon.

I like the new vest. It has some nice, vibrant colours. A lovely blue, a pure white and a little bit of pink too. The pink is especially nice. Only a person as confident in his heterosexuality as I am can get away with wearing pink without people asking questions. Ahem. I liked the turquoise and yellow vest that I wore in last year's marathon. That was a lovely little number. I can't decide whether I prefer this year's vest or not, because they are both very nice vests. It's a size medium, which I thought was my size, but it appears to be a little bit big for me. Not a problem though. It will sag a little, and as a result, not touch my 'nippular area,' so I will be less likely to suffer from chafing and bleeding nipples during the marathon.


As the marathon draws nearer, the sponsorship money has been coming in. I have been telling anybody who'll listen about the marathon and reminding them about sponsorship, albeit with the subtlety of a brick through a plate-glass window. Most of them have kindly agreed to sponsor me. Indeed, some of them already have sponsored me now. I've raised over £700 - thanks to everybody for their kind donations. Other people are yet to sponsor me, including a few people I call close friends. One even emailed me to tell me that I had "a cheek" to ask him for sponsorship. I guess generosity has never been his strong point. I don't think he's opened his wallet since 1994. Didn't stop him from telling me that I should sponsor him for a 10k walk in May though.