Saturday, January 19, 2013

Luke's Locker

Let me start by telling you that I hate all things running. I think I would rather do pretty much anything in the world besides run, but I know it is so good for your body and mind and I really want to enjoy it but things just hurt and I am extremely winded and it is just not enjoyable. I am hoping to change that with Couch 2 5k, and hopefully run a 5k at some point this year.
The second thing I need to tell you is that I have plantar fascitis (self diagnosed of course)  in my heels, and I can sit down for 5 minutes after walking and then when I stand back up to walk again it's extremely painful. Waking up in the morning is comical because I have a full bladder, and so I hobble to the bathroom with my bum feet killing me every step of the way. It feels like my tendons are just really short in my heel/ankle area and so it almost seems like things are pulling or stretching in my foot. Ouch.
I realize I put lots of pressure on my heels when I stand, and I know the extra weight doesn't help things, so finding a good running shoe to get started was pretty important, even if I knew it were to cost me more than just picking up a pair of Nike's at the mall because they looked cute.
The folks that work at Luke's Locker are specialized in feet apparently, because they ask questions, find out exactly what your needs/wants are, and they even watch you walk either on a treadmill or a track to see where you put the most pressure when you walk, and if your feet do anything different that might require a certain type of shoes.
Matt and I ventured out to the location in mid-town (Houston) last weekend and although it was a yucky rainy day, the place was CROWDED! Come to find out, it was the day before the Houston Marathon. There were people everywhere and people were running through the store on the track they had. There was a waiting list of people waiting for a "specialist" to help with shoes. This was not how I envisioned getting this knocked off my list, as I really wanted someone to spend time with me and help me find the right shoe. Honestly, I was very intimidated, and just wanted to leave but Matt encouraged me to stay and made sure I was going to be taken care of by someone. Whenever it was finally my turn, the guy helping me really did listen when I told him about my faulty heel and how I am planning on doing Couch 2 5k, and that I hate to run. He had me walk around and watched my feet closely and then brought out a "tester" pair of shoes for me to try. Love, love, loved them! They felt wonderful and he had me try on about 6 or 7 more pairs (he even put them on my feet and took them off my feet, LOL!) and I decided that the first pair was the winner.
I ended up also getting a headband, and two pairs of socks that will help with my lack of arch in my foot, and I am very pleased. I have done the 1st day of Couch 2 5k and they didn't hurt me one bit!
Here they are- they are the Ghost 5 Women's running shoe with my pretty new headband and they make my feet feel as if I am running on clouds (:


And just like that, two items are knocked off my 35 before 35 list!


3.Buy lunch for a stranger

7.Get fitted for shoes and purchase them at Luke's locker

So much fun!


2 comments:

the blogivers said...

Nice! Will be cheering you in your Couch 2 5k quest! I did it this summer and really liked it :)

The Joiners said...

You go, girl! I will cheer you on from the comfort of my couch :)

 
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