Marathon (Snickers) Man comes to Tewkesbury 3.

This week, the Snickers man buys a pair of trainers in preparation for the Tewkesbury Half Marathon.

Well I've been training a week now and have really enjoyed it. I've met some truly amazing supportive people along the way, learned loads which has made the fact that I am in constant pain bearable (but it's nice pain cos you know you've done something worthwhile).

I had intended for this week's blog to be about diet, but that one will have to wait a week..partly because I have loads of other stuff to share, but also because the diet hasn't started yet!!

So last week, after the kind invite from Daniel Webb to join Tewkesbury Athletics Club on Friday night at The Prince of Wales Stadium, Cheltenham (no floodlights at Tewkesbury School), I set about getting some trainers for the event.
First surprise, there's nowhere in Tewkesbury to buy a pair of trainers. What a shame, I found myself being referred to Cheltenham or Gloucester. I know that market forces, most notably consumer demand drive supply & availability of products and services, however I find it hard to believe that a town as great as Tewkesbury, with the catchment that it has doesn't have a sports shop - especially when we are striving to keep the Tewkesbury pound local. Anyway, this should probably be covered in a separate blog..one for another day).

I had no idea that there was so much to buying a pair of running shoes, but I'm glad I found out. If you don't get the right shoes, the risk of doing damage to yourself is greatly enhanced (especially with my frame!).
Off to "Up & Running" in Cheltenham I trotted. There I was met by Tom, a fantastically informed team member who put me through my paces. What I expected to be a quick in & out with a pair of sized 9s under my arm turned into a 75 minute consultation.
Firstly, I was told to run on the store's treadmill whilst my "action" was captured digitally. In between, Tom went to assist another customer, so I was left for about a minute. A minute at 4.5mph nearly finished me there & then! My first activity in over 8 years & there I was struggling for breath. What had I let myself in for?

Upon Tom's return, we reviewed my style (or lack of it). The purpose of this was to establish my running gait. There are a number of running shoe types that are designed to support you fully whilst running, dependant on the type of surface, the shape of your feet & your gait.

Once the level of my pronation had been established, Tom was able to recommend a selection of shoes, advise me to move up half a size and then allow me to run on the treadmill with each pair to establish which compensated best, and were of course most comfortable.
FANTASTIC service, a real eye opener & possibly the most comfortable pair of shoes I've ever had. Finally, they were affordable. In the way of the true salesman, Tom then managed cross sell a nike+ pedometer that fits into the sole of my left running shoe, communicates wirelessly with a wrist band providing time, distance, calories burned and amazingly allows you to update this data to the web to share with your friends & race against the world! Superb!

I was chuffed, not only have I got a great pair of running shoes at an affordable price - and a superb motivational tool in the process! Sadly Deb wasn't as impressed in my £40 trade up as I was..better make it work then.

In order to start as I meant to carry on, I had to set up the pedometer. I'll try to keep this simple. A small lozenge - shaped thing fits into a slot in the sole of my left shoe, the inner sole placed on top. The wrist band has a small removable USB thing that plugs into your pc, it then charges and is fit for use for 14 hours. It links to the Nike website where you can set up your personal profile. The USB fits back into the wrist band, and is then worn. When you start to walk or run, the wrist band records your progress. Once complete you can upload your runs to the net and share with other runners, facebook & twitter, reviewing your progress daily. Also it sets a training plan to help you achieve distance over a set time period.

How great is that? This week I have run 5.99miles. Not a lot I hear you say, but it is 5.99 miles more than last week! I reckon I have the capability & motivation to nudge myself over the 6 mile mark by close today!

Now to lay my achievements for this week at the doorstep of Nike would be a massive disservice to Dan and the guys at Tewkesbury Athletics Club. They have been fantastically supportive, and as such deserve a separate blog. I am just keen to share my progress & experiences in a logical fashion so that anyone else tempted to join me on my journey can follow in the right order.

In my next blog I will be sharing how much I have learned about running thanks to Tewkesbury Athletics Club , how much pain I am in and what my training plan looks like. Also as promised, some discoveries about dieting.

Thanks for reading, stay tuned and remember, if you want to join me please feel free to contact me through thebestoftewkesbury website.

Until next time, Trehane