training gear

I am a disgruntled customer today.

Whose idea was it to make 5 million different type of the exact same thing with the smallest modification so that no just any one will work, no it has to be the exact one for you....

I always thought I was pretty easy to please.  I tend to avoid shopping at all costs and do a lot of research before I go and buy something so I don't get caught in the store too long.   However lately I am finding getting the training gear I need is taking a lot longer and is much more expensive than I was planning.

Last fall as I saw my weight continue to climb I decided I would start running again.  so I researched good running shoes, what to look for, prices etc and headed off to my nearest shoe store.  I ended up with exactly what was recommended by the sales man, the internet and the lady sitting beside me who looked like she had been running all her life ( and never broken a sweat).  I laced up my new secret weapon to success and headed out the door to victory...

10 minutes later I entered a new door... defeat.  my legs hurt, my feet were on fire, this was not fun at all!  I struggled with the shoes for months running never having a successful run with limited pain, instead it got increasingly worse.  I stretched, I taped, I even purchased a pair of compression pants ( that is another post for another day) and no relief so I set off to find another pair of shoes.

I went to a speciality running store, the one where they examine your foot and watch you walk and only stock shoes geared for running.  The lady did her examination and looked at me and said ' I would recommend the shoes you already have"! Hip Hip Hooray!  I ended up with a different pair of shoes and the promise of reaching my running goal in the back of my head! However so far I do not have the shin splint pain or searing foot pain but do have a numbness problem with my feet in the new shoes.  however I have given up caring at the moment and just switch between both pairs of horrible colorful cheerful shoes!

Next comes the bike- I am not serious about this triathlon thing so I am just using the mountain bike I had bought 2 years ago for training and race day.  However as my bike time has continued I have started to have a real problem with numbness in my hands. I did all the research and it looks like I need to adjust the handle bar height.... the only problem is my bikes handle bars do not adjust..... now I have a serious bike dilemma on my hands

The swimming gear I have not figured out yet.  I am self conscious about my legs ( think a huge bowl of cottage cheese) so I wear shorts when I swim.  I am also self conscious about everything else on my body so I have yet to decide what apparel I am going to wear to start the race in a swim and then move into a bike and run without changing inbetween.  However I think it is best for all unsuspecting employees if I just stay away from the store for a few days.

ahh this momma is learning to run, bike, swim and be healthy but it is hard work!