need to up the gear...

This morning, I brought my new pair of running shoes for a long jog - It is a Saucony Progrid Paramount, which I bought last Monday. I tried it out on Tuesday but thought I should try it over long distance to see its performance on my feet.

This new pair, Saucony Progrid Paramount is the fourth pair of running shoes I bought since last July. The last pair, Asics TN712, which I bought in November, gave me so much misery after I brought it out for a long jog the first time around - I suffered from aching feet and back ache which got me bed ridden all day that day. This has never happened to me before.

Prior to the Asics, I had an Adidas but it was too narrow that it hurt my feet after a long jog. Since the failure of Asics, I have been relying on my 7 month old New Balance N755, who has been there for me for some of the races I have participated, including the Standard Chartered Marathon last December.

Despite being a good servant, the N755 are not exactly a comfortable pair of running shoes, especially after running for than 10km. You can feel just how hard the shoes are. No disrespect to the brand - perhaps it was just not suitable for my feet.

So far, this new Saucony pair has been good. I was not in any pain after the long jog, like I did after I bought my Asics pair. This pair better not give me any issues because I certainly do not want to fork out any more cash and go through another search of the ultimate pair of running shoes. The last 7 months has seen yours truly heavily investing in running shoes and found a couple of them unsuitable. Painful, really, for both the feet and the pocket.

Honestly, I have not been running more than 10km since participating in the Standard Chartered Marathon last year. I am not sure if it takes THAT long for my body to recover or I have just been lazy. One thing for sure I know is that I did not have a pair of comfortable shoes since I gave up on my Asics running shoes. Aside from that, getting up in the morning for runs and other exercises has been rather difficult.

I have also been bad this week. I have been letting myself go as far as food is concerned. I have been taking in too many bad carbs, minimal intake of fruits and vegetables, eating big meals instead of 5 small ones like I am used to and not drinking enough water. Hence, a long distance run was in order this morning, whether I like it or not. I was a bit reluctant because I was concerned if I was going to suffer in pain if the shoes are not suited to my feet. I pushed myself regardless and I am glad I did because I benefited from abundance of energy afterwards.

Looks like February will be the month where I get my groove back with a new pair of running shoes to keep me going and ready for my next race! Don't let me down, Saucony! You are supposed to kick ass and you better!