My Journey With Weight Loss – You Need Good Shoes For Training

I am not happy with my Fitbit today. Because it was pouring rain this morning I opted for the dreaded treadmill. Today I was to do an easy 14k and I know I tend to run faster on the treadmill than outside. I also know that 14k will take me about 2 hours on the treadmill. I did a pretty easy run but I did push it in to high gear for several minutes at the end. When I looked at my Fitbit it said 1) I had run about 13k and 2) I only ran for 1 hr 33 min. I do know it is incorrect because my tracking app on my phone had me at just over 14k. Ok, time to do a reset and hopefully tomorrow it will be more accurate.

My husband and I have been walking together each day since he came home and Monday he commented to me that his feet were bothering him. I looked down at his shoes and went OMG, no wonder, those are crappy shoes. I told him it was time to go look for some proper walking shoes because without good shoes it is pretty easy to find excuses not to walk each day.

So out we went to a shoe store. The problem is that my husband is from Scotland and is very stereotypical in that he is a cheap bastard. He immediately balked at the price of good walking shoes but I told him it was a must. When he finally settled on a pair I think it nearly killed him to pay for them. I tried to make him feel better by telling him that those shoes were about half the price of the ones I wear. Note, that statement did not make him feel better in anyway.

I know I’ve talked about the importance of good shoes when running but a lot of it applies to walking as well. When I started walking (wow, nearly 2 years ago) I had pretty good walking shoes. I have worn good walking shoes for many years because quite frankly they give far better support to my bad knee. But there are several other reasons good walking shoes are important,

1. They help maintain correct walking technique
2. They are an important part of injury prevention
3. Your feet being comfortable can help with both endurance and speed
4. Proper fitting and appropriate walking shoes can lessen the impact of walking by cushioning your step

A final comment, it is also important to replace your shoes on a regular basis My podiatrist told me a good measure for me is every 6 months for my running shoes (actually 12 months since I alternate 2 different pairs) and that it is important to replace them before they start breaking down. Walking shoes are no different and I will be keeping track of my husband’s shoes to make sure he swaps them out at the right time.