Finding a well-fitting pair of shoes is always a problem for me. Being only 5'7" is one thing, but having only size 8 feet because if it is a nuisance. Sometimes, depending on the make, I may need a 7.5 or even a 7. Even with different shoes from the same manufacturer the size can vary. It can get very frustrating. I got lucky with the trail runners I bought on sale at Canadian Tire about at year ago. They fit, and were just what I needed to do my first Raid Avalon, even before I'd heard of it. They were too worn for this summer though, and the search was on again.
Trail runners didn't seem to be very popular in any of the stores, so this made the task even more difficult. After about a half-dozen stores I found something suitable, but not exactly what I was looking for, and at the top of my budget. There was only a week before the race, and I needed something ASAP to at least get in a bit of training, so the Nike TR9000's would have to do.
The next day I decided to go for a little 4 hour stroll over the railbed to break them in. I'd alternate between walking and running up towards the junction for 2 hours and then make my way back. Well, by the time I'd gone 1.5 hours I realized I'd gone 30 minutes too far. The shoes I went to break in were breaking up my feet. The return trip was a bit slower, so I was gone 3.5 hours in total by the time I struggled into the house. Everything hurt from the waste down.
In February I had walked for about 6 hours in heavy, uncomfortable winter boots, so my current state surprised me. It put doubts in my mind about being able to do the race at all if this was the shape I was in. This is a day later and things have improved a great deal. I went kayaking today to give the feet a break. Tuesday the most I will do with them is bicycle, but come Wednesday they will need to be ready for a little more training. The race starts on Saturday morning.
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