Shoes, shoes, everywhere there's shoes...

Ow....then numbness. My left foot suddenly went completely numb on Saturday's night run. Completely and totally freaked me out. I had never experienced this before! I ended up shaking my foot, then stretching my calf, and then shaking my foot again. About ten minutes later I finally regained feeling. By now all I could think about was had I re-injured it? I actually had a great run and only felt a mild twinge or two until the numbness set in after 3 miles.

When I got home I took a hot shower, stretched using my Foot Rocker, foam rolled my completely charlie horsing like crazy calf, iced that puppy, downed an Ibuprofen, and then put on my night splint. I of course then checked the internet to see what could have caused it. Number one reason was pinched nerve due to bad shoes. Then I began to think about it. I bought my Brooks Ghost 5s in November. Developed plantar fasciitis by January. And now that I started to run again my foot goes numb. I never had this problem in my Brooks Glycerin 9s. The Ghost 5s also felt a little tight in the toe box area. I knew I needed some expert advice and of course went straight to my running groups on Facebook.

ADVICE PLEASE! 

I absolutely LOVED my Brooks Glycerin 9 shoes. But I knew they were ready to be park shoes when my knees began to hurt. So I purchased a pair of Ghost 5 and liked the weight. Didn't have knee pain. Trained in them for my half and the balls of my feet would hurt. I thought it just may be because of my weight. Ran the half in them. After the half I was sidelined for awhile with PF. Now I am running again. For the first time ever I went numb in my injured foot last night. Scariest thing when you have no idea what and why it was doing that. Looked it up. More than likely shoe related.

I looked up the new Glycerin 10 and can't see a visible difference between it and the Ghost 5.

Long story short, I may be shoe shopping tomorrow and perhaps selling some Ghost 5s, haha! Does anyone know of a brand that makes a shoe comparable or better than the Brooks Glycerin 9? Thanks!

Between my friends, Team 262, RacingTheDream@runDisney, For The Love Of Disney Running, and Team VICTORIOUS it looked like it really was my shoes. Other people had experienced the exact same symptoms. But just because that happens to you doesn't mean the shoe is bad. I think it just means that shoe is not for you. People were also very helpful with shoe suggestions and lacing suggestions. So many shoe suggestions! Which to choose? Today I tried on all of the brands they suggested and ran around the store to see which was best for me. I did do a little research first. One person suggested trying Mizuno's shoe finder. Brilliant! It was a great starting point. Check it out.

Mizuno vs Brooks

I strolled into Fit2Run wearing my work boots. I figured the best time to go was right after work when my feet were slightly swollen. Grabbed a pair of Feetures socks and a store clerk. I asked him for the Brooks Glycerin 10 and Mizuno Wave Creation 14. First, I tried on the Glycerin 10s. Felt like coming home. Very soft on my injured foot and felt good. Then I tried on the Mizuno (the version the fit site suggested I try). He did warn me it would feel stiff and it did. Felt like I was running on pavement with flip flops though. Not a bad feeling but not a comforting one either. 

Asics Nimbus 15 vs Brooks Glycerin 10

Then I tried on some Asics Nimbus 15. These were so soft. Like running on fluffy clouds! I thought I had found my new shoe...until my heel started to hurt. CRUD! They were pretty too. Sigh. Back to the bench I walked. I then asked him what other shoes he had that were comparable to the Glycerins. Down came the New Balance 1080V3 and the Saucony Women's Ride 5.

 The Saucony felt pretty good but my heal slipped up and down a ton. The shoe guy showed me how to fix that by lacing them differently. Really neat technique. So off I ran! Shins! Shins! Oh my gosh! My shins were on fire! That would be a no to the really pretty Saucony shoes. Sigh.I came walking back and he asked if I liked them. I told him my feet did but my shins did not. He replied that these were definitely not the shoe for me. So we opened the New Balance 1080V3 shoe.

New Balance vs Brooks

Oooooooooooooo. Fun shoe! Really light! Good grip on the track and was soft on my feet. But I wasn't really sure. So I tried the Brooks on again. All of the aches I now had from the other shoes started to quickly fade away. Back to the bench to try on the NB and Brooks at the same time. The NBs were lower and didn't feel as cushioned as the Brooks. But they didn't feel bad. So I went with my gut feeling and chose the Brooks. Deciding factor? The pain quickly began to fade with the Brooks but did not lessen with the New Balance.

My other deciding factor was that if I didn't like the shoes I could return them within 30 days and get a different pair of shoes no questions asked. So if these puppies fail me on the road I will try the New Balance. If those fail I will try a different style. I WILL find my shoes. Thanks again for all of your help my friends.

See you on the road or at the race!
Cristina

A ridiculous beginning...but a beginning nonetheless.

"All great deeds and all great thoughts
have a ridiculous beginning."
Albert Camus

Happy Fools Day my fellow fools!
I decided I need more accountability and so I am writing this summary of my "workouts" for the week. Or as I like to look at it "my ridiculous beginning"! Now hold on and don't click off of the blog quite yet! I have a few important things to share. Some of them being Disney related. So sit back and get ready to check out my week of lame attempts to train.

Tuesday...I felt ridiculous and a little embarrassed. Here I was on the fit trail, walking slowly with occasional twinges, and being passed by both young and old as if I were standing still. But I was determined to walk once around the trail. Halfway through, my good leg (or so I thought it was my good leg) began to really cramp. I actually had to make my mind focus on making my muscles relax. It felt like I had never exercised a day in my life! But I was determined to train smart and so I swallowed my pride...kind of...and mentally shouted to everyone who passed "I really did earn this Tower of Terror Ten Miler shirt! I really am a runner...just an injured one." Oh well. I was there and I finished my lap and felt good about it. Man I have a long path to recovery ahead of me.

Wednesday...Well now. My foot was quite sore. I think it was the weather but I knew I needed to give it a rest. So I did!

Thursday...Still a little sore but I was determined to do something today. Instead of doing cardio I thought I better do some stretching. Perhaps that would continue to rehab my foot. Then I decided to pack for Disney instead. That is kind of a core workout, right? Bending, stretching, lifting my luggage, and whatnot. Well, we are calling it one anyway. Don't judge. Okay, judge but be gentle.

I'm a flying MONKEY!

Friday...DISNEY, baby! Aw yeah! After driving for three hours I made it to Orlando where I planned to do my cardio walking for the weekend. Walk, walk, stand, walk, walk, stand, stand, stand, walk, and eat. I certainly got my walking in. My foot didn't hurt too badly although we stood in a ton of lines. I felt like I had walked through several different countries by the time we made it back to the hotel. Yeah, I was at EPCOT. I have one recommendation for those of you who are fellow passholders. Definitely switch over to the new card scan system. It is pretty cool. Swirls and lights up green while making a bell sound when you scan your card and finger. Magical. 

Saturday...More Disney walking. We hit Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. My foot did well. It wasn't until hour ten that my foot started tweaking and hurting a bit. I stretched it and then found a ride that had a short line and a ton of sitting. That seemed to do the trick. 

All in all I think it was the perfect way to get back into an exercise routine. I believe the walking and standing helped my foot to gradually get used to being used for long periods of time. Saturday night I was even able to run to catch a bus and I DID NOT HURT! Ah, the magic of Disney. Oddly enough it boosted my spirits to know that I would be able to train and not further injure my self. I now know that I CAN run this upcoming race. I can still follow my dreams of becoming a regular runner. If you are nursing an injury and are slowly getting back into the swing of things I encourage you to keep going. Slowly but surely we will be stronger better runners. And like my favorite singing group at EPCOT crooned this weekend....

So keep on dreaming and believing my friends,
Cristina