Shoe Fittings

I had a dream this week that the Atlanta walk was 2 weeks away. I woke up in a state of confusion freaking out because I had forgot to go on any training walks and there were so many topics I wanted to talk about on my blog and never got a chance. Luckily we still have 25 weeks to go!

25 weeks until the event, you know what this means right? If you are on the 24 week virtual trainer plan you will be getting an email very soon that will look like this:
 

Your 24-Week Training Schedule for This Week

Monday		Rest
Tuesday		3 miles		Easy walking
Wednesday		Rest
Thursday		3 miles		Moderate walking
Friday		30 minutes		Easy cross-training
Saturday		3 miles		Easy walking
Sunday		3 miles		Easy walking

I've already started walking after work and on weekends, and its way past that time for new shoes! I've been walking in a pair of shoes that I used in the 2008 walk. I'm not sure why or how that pair hasn't made it to the recycle yet?

Has anyone told you, you need to be fitted for shoes before? If they haven't, it is imperative that you do so. My shoe size rages from 6.5-7.5 and when I was fitted for my walking shoes, I was an 8.5.  I never would have picked any of the shoes I have been fitted for. In fact, I wear running shoes, not walking shoes. There are several companies in Atlanta that do shoe fittings and they even offer a discount. New Balance, Big Peach Running Co. and my personal choice Phidippides.

Wearing the wrong sized shoes, or shoes that cause you to over/under correct can attribute to injuries and unnecessary soreness. You may not notice them during the 3 to 5 mile walks, but trust me as the mileage starts to climb you will be hurting if your in the wrong shoes. The experts will watch you walk in several shoes and the two of you will pick the pair or the pairs that work the best. Another plus to buying shoes at one of the above stores, your shoes come with a warranty! After a couple of wears if you are not satisfied, you can take the shoes back to the store and be re-fitted. (be sure to check each stores individual policy!) 

Bottom line, your going to be spending a lot of time in these shoes, spend a little extra time and money to get the pairs that work for you. You want at least two, if not three pairs of shoes for the walk. I like to have a pair of shoes for each day. This way if weather is a factor you don't have to worry about your shoes not drying in time, you don't have to worry about the shoes re-forming and that third pair of shoes is a good back up!

Next up, importance of (non-cotton) socks. Even 3-Day Alums sometimes  forget to change their socks enough. These are my feet, when I ditched the shoes and put on flip flops for the last 5 miles. I didn't change my socks enough. Lesson learned!