Happily Ever After
Life in The Rural Retreat with a beautiful wife, three cats, garden wildlife, a camera, a computer – and increasing amounts about running
Earlier posts can be found on Adventures of a Lone Bass Player, where this blog began life. Recent entries can be found here.
Stepping Out With Brooks
by Russell Turner - 19:57 on 18 January 2018
Today, the running shoes touched snow for the first time. Not in flat out action, fortunately, just on the lane to the main road where the surface was free of snow and ice and fine for 40 minutes of steady running – the first day of Week 4 of the marathon plan. Two more runs, the last one covering at least seven miles, and I’ll be quarter of the way to the start line.
The run went well, despite an Arctic headwind on the way back from Jemimaville, the shoes performing as required. But owning only one pair is living dangerously, even if their antiquity (nine years old and half-price when new because they were old stock) is balanced by one careful owner and low mileage. My venerable Asics GT 2120s might last until The Big Day or they might fall apart with a week to go, which would not be a good time to source and break in new shoes.
Two attempts to buy similar back-ups online (Asics GT 1000 and 2000) produced only shoes that were too small, so this afternoon I returned the most recent pair in person to the Inverness branch of Run4It and tried on some more. It turns out that although I take a size 12 walking shoe, and the old size 12 Asics fitted just fine, I need a size 13 running shoe.
The Enthusiastic Assistant produced two pairs – different brands to the Asics but similar design – which I tried on and road tested on the shop treadmill. The vote went to the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 18 (Matchgirl and Cathy will expect all the details) which fitted like slippers, were nicely cushiony and come in any colour you like as long as it’s blue. I didn’t care so that’s all right.
Matchgirl, I’m sure, would have asked to try many more styles, especially as The Enthusiastic Assistant would have been willing to furnish me with lots of size 13s, had he had any more of the type I wanted (ie as close to the Asics as possible). However, the shop obviously doesn’t cater for hobbits, and as the shoes felt fine I handed over £11 and left the shop.
If that seems a remarkably low price, the returned shoes were part of the deal.
I’ll give them their first real world test on Saturday, when the second run lasts 45 minutes, plus five minutes’ walk front and back. With luck, all will be well and they won’t add to Matchgirl’s discarded shoe mountain beneath the stairs.
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