After far too long, I’ve finally decided to do something about getting into shape. Mrs B has been getting back into running for a few months now, doing a fair bit of road running (when weather permits) and recently she bought a treadmill so she can exercise whatever the weather. I’ve seen the positive affect running has had on her health and decided there’s really no excuse now and I need to do something myself.

So I had a few attempts at running on the treadmill and really wasn’t enjoying it. I found myself having to concentrate really hard on running in one place, I would find myself losing balance - not by a lot but enough to put me off-centre and throw my style off. Because of this it got quite tiring and I resorted to using one hand on the support rail to steady myself while running - not ideal. Mrs B said I needed proper running shoes and although I didn’t think it would make a huge difference, I went along with the idea because the old Nike trainers I was using to run in had seen better days.

Fitprint

We went shopping yesterday and visited a branch of The Athlete’s Foot (which is either a really great name for a shoe shop, or a really awful one!). A helpful sales assistant measured my feet and analysed pressure points while I was walking - this information helped them to recommend the right sort of shoes for me. This system is called FitPrint and shows how pressure is applied when walking / running. It meant that the shoes I ended up with are giving me support in all the right areas and I’m less likely to injure myself when running. They were on sale too, which was a pleasant surprise!

Once I got home I had another run on the treadmill and the difference was like night and day. I felt much more stable and was able to concentrate on my running, rather than making sure I wasn’t going to fall off the treadmill. I was able to run for longer and felt like I’d had a steady exercise session, rather than short intervals of exercise interspersed by stumbles and me going off balance.

So, if you’re having trouble getting into running I’d suggest getting your feet analysed by a professional - you may find that a change of shoes is all it takes to get you back on track.