Running (shoes)

[wildeabandon]

I went running this morning! And Monday! And Saturday! Okay, that's not very many times yet, but it's twice more than I usually manage when I decide that I'm going to take up running, so my hopes are up. This morning I did the first episode of Zombies! Run!, which was pretty good fun, and I think will make it easier to keep it going. I've also ordered some gloves and warmer running gear, as it's been bloody cold when I first get started, and it's probably going to get a fair bit colder before the spring.

I think I could probably also do with getting some new trainers, as the ones I have now are about seven years old, and were pretty cheap and cheerful back then, but that strikes me as something that requires a bit more thought than gloves and leggings. People who run - any pointers on where I should get them, anything I should look out for, and how much should I be expecting to spend? FWIW, I expect to be running about 2-3 times/week, and usually no more than about 5km. Maybe with the occasional 10k run on weekends once I'm a lot fitter than I am now.

Also, in between vignettes about zombies I have music playing, and am really really bad/lazy about picking songs, so if anyone has any good exercise Spotify playlists to share/recommend, that would be fab.

Comments

[liv]

I have been running about 5 km 2-3 times a week, and I've found it worthwhile to invest in specialist running trainers. They cost me in the region of £80, and are definitely better than the old, falling apart £10 trainers I used to have. I wasn't really able to find much intermediate between those two extremes; there are cheap rubbish trainers, and there are fancy expensive ones, but not really mid-range ones anywhere I looked. The thing is, there are some fancy expensive trainers which are pricey because they have a famous or desirable brand, some fancy expensive trainers which are pricey because they're specifically good for running, and you probably want the latter. What I did was go to a specialist running shop which offered gait analysis, and bought what they recommended. I am not sure if gait analysis is a scam or not, tbh, but at least places that do it are selling running shoes rather than fashion shoes.

[lovingboth]

Mine were from Lillywhites at Piccadilly in a sale about four years ago.

They're some specialist Adidas running ones, were about 75% off, and are wonderful - I can understand why people paid the full price. I can definitely feel the difference between those and the 'they'll last for a year or two' Aldi ones I normally wear. Most of the middle of heel has been removed, for example, and that both reduces the weight and adds to the springiness. To help them last I only wear them when I am going to be running around (theme parks are the classic example) otherwise I'd wear them any time it's dry.