New Shoes

We are so excited to have so many first time distance runners joining us for our training and our race in May.  As you begin your training you will likely be fine running in the same shoes you use for the gym or any other athletic activity, but I can assure you as the miles start to add up a good pair of running shoes will make a world of difference when it comes to comfort and even preventing injuries.  There is no one who likes avoiding hassle more than me so I prefer to buy everything I can off the internet, but your first pair of quality running shoes are something that you really can't buy via the web.  A local running store can not only help you identify what type of shoe you need based on how you run but they can also allow you to try on various shoes in that category.  I would suggest visiting actual running store rather than an athletic store like Academy or Dicks.  For those running in Mobile I can suggest McCoy Outdoor, Running Wilde in Fairhope, or my personal favorite Sports n More in Foley (they will have the best prices by far) Running is a very inexpensive hobby but expect to pay between $100 - $150 for a good pair of shoes which will last you about 500 miles or well past our race in April.

A few tips from my experience with running shoes

1.  You will be running a long distance you need something with some support. This means slightly heavier shoes (no racing flats but no cross training shoes either)
2.  As a general rule your running shoes should be 1 full size bigger than your dress shoes (saves black toe nails for instance my regular shoes are 10.5 but my running shoes are 11.5)
3.  Try on several brands its all about preference. Asics make the most popular running shoe in the world but I personally don't like them.  I hate Nike's but my wife Whitney loves them. For what its worth Brooks are my favorite.  Mizuno, Kahar, Newton are a few other brands you may want to try .

Before you visit the store if you want to have a basic idea of what you need this link should help
http://www.runnersworld.com/cda/whichshoe/1,,s6-240-325-329-0-0-0-0-0,00.html

Whitney and I will be out of town this weekend running the Rock n Roll Half Marathon in Vegas so I won't be able to organize a group run this week but if you guys would like to get together please use the Facebook group to coordinate a meeting location.  We will do our first group run the following Saturday.

As a reminder here is the Week 1 Schedule most of you should have completed at least 2 runs by the time you read this.

New Runners

Week 1:
Go to a local track because the distances are exact. Once on the track walk 1/2 lap, then jog 1/2 lap, walk a half, jog a half for 1 mile. You will alternate jogging & running 8 times (4 each) and complete 4 full laps, that's exactly 1 mile. Now no matter how good you feel, go home. Do this 4 to 6 days a week; never less than 4 days or more than 6 days weekly.

When you complete 4 full laps, that's exactly 1 mile, now no matter how good you feel, go home. Do this 4 to 6 days a week.

Never less than 4 days or more than 6 days weekly.

Experienced Runners

Run at least 4 days per week at least 2 miles per day do more if you are comfortable

Marathon Plan

Week 1: Mon -3 miles; Wed -3 miles; Thurs 3 miles Sat –5 miles