The Lincolnshire Runner

This week I thought it was about time I got some proper advice about my trainers. When I first got my treadmill and started to workout out on a regular basis I was jogging in some crappy cheapo Asda trainers (You know the type - £5 for a dozen pairs and 12 pairs of socks thrown in for free!?)   No point spending shed loads of money on something that's going to be a flash in the pan!

Tired Old Lonsdale Trainers

They were swiftly  replaced by some Lonsdale trainers which, if I'm honest, were about as much use as a fart in a wind tunnel!  The ones from Asda were probably better!  As far as I was concerned a trainer was a trainer and the less money I had to part with for them, the better!  Apparently a trainer is NOT a trainer - it is far more than that - and my Lonsdales were just fashion trainers (hmm.. not exactly high fashion but hey ho!)  Please Do Not Judge Me -  I chose them because they had nice lilac bits on them and looked quite pretty and didn't make my feet look huge! (very important thing to consider that is, how they look!)

Grubby and Well Used

I have been into sports shops in the past... usually to buy sports stuff for He-Who-Must-Be-Ignored - golf shoes, balls, trainers - the usual sort of thing. The first time I walked into a "proper" sports shop to make a purchase for myself was when I went to buy my New Balance trainers! They have been good but I just wasn't sure they were what I needed and they've covered quite a few miles in the past few months, both walking jogging and cycling.
Surprisingly I've covered some 623.41 miles (according to my stats on Endomondo) since 16th April 2011.  By then I was already 4 weeks into my couch to 5k training program.  Anyway, back to my foray into a sports shop for the first time....
The guys in the sports shop (which shall remain nameless) were very well trained - at going to the store room and bringing out trainers in various sizes and colours.  Not once did they offer any advice and to be honest I was too scared to ask - I didn't want to look like an idiot so I did what lots of we ladies do - picked a pair I liked the look of, white with nice pretty pink bits.   Luckily for me they've been a great pair of trainers. Once upon a time they looked all shiny and clean and beautiful. Now they look like a pair of well loved, well used trainers!

Not only do I write my own little blog, I also read lots and lots of blogs. I follow links from those blogs to other blogs and from there I visit other blogs via links. I'm getting quite addicted to reading about other people adventures, mishaps and triumphs!  One such blog was by a lady who'd gone to a "proper" running shop to get fitted out with her new trainers - and so the seed was sewn...



Not only do I read blogs - I've also been trawling t'interweb lurking on discussion boards and such like and saw a posting on Runners World about The Lincolnshire Runner - which is a small shop on my local high street. The poster was saying how good they were at The Lincolnshire Runner - helpful, know their stuff and all that kind of thing!  

Feeling brave, because I'm now a fully fledged runner who can jog outside in the wind and rain, and smile in the face of adversity, I informed He-Who-Must-Be-Ignored that we were going to get up nice and early on Saturday morning and head into town to said Lincolnshire Runner shop, which we duly did! 

This is a small shop! The bottom of the door is reinforced with what looks like a steel plate - hmmm... looks like it's a nice area we're in here!   Pushing open the door  we entered the Shop Of Dreams...   I was relieved to see a granny like lady behind the till and a couple of younger guys paying great attention to a guy who'd brought his son in to be fitted for a pair of trainers.   Suddenly I felt as if I really didn't belong here where people who were runners might come!    Too late!  Guy number two asked if he could help, and then it was in for a penny in for a pound time!  

I explained that I thought it was about time I got a new pair of trainers and I thought it was a good idea to get some help in choosing them from somebody who might actually know what it was I need! He enquired about the type I was using now (thank goodness I already knew they were New Balance so I didn't look a complete twit!) Then he wanted to know which particular ones they were?  Pfft, - they're white with pink trim I blurted - how on earth would I know what particular ones they were!?  I only bought them because they looked pretty, were the right price (and had been further reduced) and didn't make my feet look huge!!  He sort of gave me a wry look and informed me that he'd get me a pair of neutral trainers to try on so he could see how I ran.


Now, at about this time BIG alarm bells started to ring. 

See how I ran.... now what's THAT all about.   Luckily for me I'd popped a pair of socks into my bag so I could pop them on when I was trying on the trainers. (so at least I scored a brownie point for coming prepared!)  To my shame they were PINK!  I smiled sheepishly at the guy as I popped them on.

Strapped into some neutral trainers I was led past a bemused He-Who-Must-Be-Ignored and into Lincoln High Street sporting my black skinny (tighter than skin) jeans and my purple Sex And Drugs And Sausage Rolls t-shirt!    

Ohhh I looked every inch the runner!

What sort of running do you do and how much running do you do, the helpful guy enquired.  Ohhh,  about 3 miles a day (which is sort of the truth) BUT I'm trying to build on that.  Treadmill, pavements and grass. I've not been running long I admitted.  I only run so I can burn calories and eat cake and chocolate and not get fat (being truthful is always best I think)  He nodded, pointed to some railings a little way up the road and said - off you go - run to them and back and off I went!

Now, last night I was at the pub. It was darts night, and although I didn't drink too much I obviously drank enough. My lower back was  twinging and running in strange trainers is also a worry.  I was thinking OOohh please don't let me trip over these pavement cracks and make a complete show of myself!  As I completed my jog and arrived back at the guy who seemed to know all and it seemed only right to utter some immortal words to excuse my crappy jogging style and my Captain Slow technique.

I have a bit of a hangover I blurted... 

He nodded in a neutral but almost sympathetic manner.  Not too bad at all but your left foot turns in a little he stated. When you get injured is it on your left side?  Hhmm... well, yes actually it is - I have a dodgy knee right now I admitted.  He nodded again. We can get your some running shoes that will be just right for you...   (suddenly he was elevated to God-Like status!)

Now, obviously he'd been taking note of what I said when I first walked in the shop because he pointed to a particular running shoe (notice I'm now calling it a running shoe and not a trainer?!) and asked if I liked that colour!   Pfft - I'm not bothered about the colour I declared - I just want a shoe that is good for my feet.  (secretly I cared very much about the colour but I wasn't going to admit to that!)  He nodded. Apparently hopeful that I wasn't a lost cause.   Once again I found myself strapped into a strange pair of running shoes. Size 5. Too small. Size 5.5. Too small!  Size 6 - ahhh just right!  And that's when I found myself out in the street again, jogging towards those railings and wishing that I'd had the good sense to wear a sports bra - and also thanking  my inner woman for deciding to wear a bra at all this day! 

Purple with bright pink laces. Lovely!

Purchase complete I was informed by an older gentleman  in the shop that the trainers I'd purchased were Special Edition - only available through smaller outlets like theirs.  I beamed - that's good to know, I said,  I'll be sure to mention that when I blog the days events later today.  

And so it was that 40 minutes after walking into The Lincolnshire Runner I stepped back outside with my newly purchased running shoes in my arms and leaving several bemused shop staff in my wake...