unironedman

I am not sure when or how I picked it up, but I’ve had quite the nasty, niggling groin strain for the last few weeks. I did what most runners do in these circumstances, and largely ignored it and continued to train and go to the gym. As you do. Consequently, it got worse. As it does. And so it came to pass that last weekend, I skipped my longish run with Gary, and stayed away from the gym.

I was hobbling around a bit last week, but the situation seems to have improved since my break from any kind of workout (other than still pottering about in the garden and working on the shed). And lo! The injury has been improving to the point where it’s fading into the background noise of all the other general aches and pains that beset you in your fifties.

I may have to celebrate. It is my birthday shortly, and I need a new pair of road running shoes if I am to tackle the Connemara Ultra in April. My flirtation with the mountain trails over recent years has left me with some rather splendid trail running shoes (in particular, my Saucony Peregrines and Hoka Speedgoats), but my more traditional road shoes have been rather worn to the bone. The best-looking pair in the armoury would be the Hoka Cliftons I bought for Declan’s Way, over two years ago. And they feel quite tired when I pop them on the odd time.

For a runner, there are few things more satisfying than getting new running shoes. It’s something of a ritual, and you mustn’t rush it. We are, as humans, quite set in our ways. Runners are no different. We find a brand we like, and we often stick with it for a lifetime. There may be no particular rhyme or reason for this brand loyalty. I guess sometimes we find a shoe we like, and we think, sod it! I’ll just get those again next time. Anything for an easy life. Nowt wrong with that, I suppose. One of my mates only wears Gel Kayanos. Gary is a Brooks man.

If you really get into the science of the thing, you start to understand that some brands have a fit, and this fit (narrow versus wide, for example), may suit for your foot shape. There are lots of things to consider, even after you’ve taken the first fork in the road, which would typically be ‘road or trail?’ There is heel drop and stack height, toebox, fit, material, cushioning, lacing and, more and more these days, plates or no plates within the sole for that extra ‘spring’. And extra money.

Always worth doing your first bit of shopping online, which is to say, research what’s out there, and consult some respected websites for reviews. I like THIS ONE, and I have no idea how the dude wears so many models; I assume he runs a LOT! Then make sure to go to your own shoe shop that you know and trust. Large retailers are really not great when it comes to expertise. They simply don’t take the time to hire the right staff. You need to be buying shoes from someone who runs, and ideally, someone who can give you honest feedback. I have a couple of stores near me like that, and I don’t bother going anywhere else anymore.

If this actually IS your first rodeo (as regards buying shoes), then no harm to get a gait analysis too, which should be more than just standing on a static plate like a large photocopier. It should involve video of you running on a set track (most do this inside the shop). They can then pick up on your pronation which should feed into shoe options.

But mostly, go in to the shop so you can try on the damn shoes! Covid taught us many things: different governments are very patchy on their responses to global pandemics; few countries were able to fully protect their citizens, or offer decent health services during that time; and – if you’ll allow me this tiresome observation – one cannot shop for shoes online.

I don’t have many readers here, and I certainly don’t expect anyone to come at me with ‘but I buy my shoes online all the time!’. Look, if you’ve got lucky in the past, fair play. It’s not for me. And more to the point, if you are the kind of person who tries on shoes for endless hours in shops, and then goes home and orders them online, well… I don’t know what to say. You are a miserable sod, and I wish you nothing but pulled hamstrings and the very worst of heel blisters.

So hopefully by the end of the week, I will be luxuriating in that new shoe smell. The downside (apart from being a year older) is that my new job has very onerous shift patterns. And worth pointing out that I am still on probation with my mentor, so I haven’t actually landed the job yet. So we will see. The shifts are long (typically 12 hours) and so you get quite a bit of time off, but they also flip around from days to nights, and at this early stage, all I can really say about the set up is that it leaves you rather tired, and certainly if you come off the back of three nights of 7am to 7pm, then your first day off is going to be spent recuperating.

All of which means training is going to be something of a challenge.

But what’s life without a little challenge?

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Taddah! It is now the following day, and we had a rather wonderful evening in Dublin town last night, celebrating with my brother’s youngest of four, Oren. He was graduating from Trinity, and most of his family made it over for the big day. As well as being a very bright young man, Oren is also a nifty athlete, running the 800m for his college team.

I was also out last week with Terry, the man who cycles and can build a bike from scratch, and, just to really rub it in, build a guitar from scratch too. We went to see virtuoso Julian Lage in a small venue in Dublin. 25 quid a ticket (which was a gift from Terry), and we were treated to some amazing playing for the evening.

And though the snow that hit most of the south and west of Ireland didn’t make it as far east as Kildare, we still had some fine, frosty weather which made for some snappy dog-walking and fine scenery.

And I suppose, to finish on the point of the post, I was able to pick up some new shoes today. So here they are: Saucony Guide 17s.

They are wonderfully clean, as Gary was quick to point out, but with this weather, that will change quite shortly, I imagine.

Happy running folks. Let’s try and stay one step ahead of the Apocalypse, shall we?