This January, one member of Team Glam has challenged herself with a new type of fitness task. Join Natalie on her journey as she gets marathon ready…
Brooks, Ghost 5 Trainers
One thing I haven’t been discreet about on this blog is my love, obsession and dedication to Nike. In the past few years I’ve never thought twice about buying Nike over other brands, especially when it comes to trainers. Nike Frees are to me like a glass slipper is to Cinderella. Unfortunately a prince charming to tie up the shoelaces does not come free with the purchase.
When I began on my marathon escapade it was only natural for me to head straight to Nike to kit myself out head-to-toe in the appropriate gear. Everything from sports bra to trainers, head bands to socks. With a body covered in Nike ticks I felt prepared.
However, over the course of my training I have had to make some adjustments to my training attire. As I began clocking up the miles, I started noticing a few niggles. Nothing too major at first, but then it all got a bit too much to ignore.
Anyone who has run the marathon before will tell you that having a decent pair or trainers is a fundamental component of your racing kit. Despite being aware of this, I purchased a pair of trainers designed for long distance running without really taking into consideration what was appropriate for my style of running. It’s very easy to ignore the whole pronation, underpronation, overpronation, neutral terminology… until you hit 10 miles. Then the knees, hips and lower back start to whinge at you if you’re not wearing suitable footwear. Following my Human Race half-marathon, when I felt there was a distinct lack of spring in my step, I headed straight to the local running shop and got myself on a treadmill over the watchful eye of a trainer expert. The poor gentleman was unwittingly subjected to a barrage of dissatisfaction from myself over the dullness of a number of the trainers he selected for me. I then proceeded to inform him that I should quit my job in media and go into trainer design; it’s unacceptable to have orange, purple and dark grey colourings on a single pair of trainers. We finally reached an agreement on a pair of Brooks, which were actually quite pleasing on the eye and I guess most importantly felt super light and comfortable to run in. The trainers have since been trialled and tested over countless miles and it is safe to say, with one month to go, Cinderella has found her turquoise and silver slippers.
The second lesson learned, which I now feel I am in a position to talk about after being traumatised for weeks, was the unpleasant experience I had with my sports bra. Having never had any problems with sports bras, I entered the half marathon unaware of the pain I was about to injure. I felt a certain amount of discomfort during the race but the real agony followed in the shower afterwards. Excited about having a nice warm shower to wash away the 13 miles of sweat, I jumped in fully immersing myself in the water, only to let out an almighty shriek and desperate scramble to get myself out the shower. Totally bemused as to what could have possible caused so much pain I looked in the mirror to find what can only be described as war wounds. I will save you from the exact details but let’s just say it looked like I had fought in a battle using only my breasts as weapons. The cuts across my chest and back were pretty horrendous and painful to say the least. It took a few days for my battle scars to heal and as with the trainers I knew I had to find a replacement sports bra, and fast. Stocked in the same shop I found the Brooks trainers were Shock Absorber Ultimate Run Bras. I tried one on in the shop and could feel the difference straight away. I obviously had to wait till my next long run to give it the big thumbs up, but after 15 miles of pavement pounding the following Saturday, I was convinced. No pain, no raw skin, no dramatic screams in the shower, just 100% comfort and a very happy Natalie!
Catch up with her latest blog posts as she overcomes city training obstacles, balances work, and the foodie yeses and nos along with training tips. She’d also love to hear yours in the comments section on each blog, or just a bit of moral support and cheering on!
