New and Shiny

I had a duh *slaps-forehead* moment on Thursday. I realised I needed new shoes.

Shoes are supposed to last 300 miles - I'd put three times that into my pair and while that didn't bother me in the least, it occurred to me that unaccountable sporadic knee, shin and calf pain are all standard symptoms of old shoes. Why the support and cushioning of running shoes should be so short lived, I don't know. I've always thought the high recommended replacement frequency was a bit of a license to print money for shoe manufacturers, but when running impacts start hurting your knees for no apparent reason, wotcha gonna do?

I went to the Holborn branch of Runners Need where they put the latest version of my current shoes (they come in year models, apparently) on me and got me on a tread mill where they captured video of my feet. This, I approve. Slowing the footage down allowed direct assessment of how my feet land as I run. I was happy to find relatively decent pronation straight off with the new shoes. When I'd been to the shop at the same time last year, I'd been overpronating quite a bit in my previous pair. I forked out an uncomfortable (but not particularly unexpected) amount at the till, but was happy with the service. I was also pleased to find the pair I'd bought was the manufacturer's flagship featured pair on their website. A high price, but at least it represented value in proportion.

I had a good run in them this morning. With exactly two weeks to go, there should be plenty of time for any teething problems to pass. Nothing off the sort this morning, however. I had a good fast six miles on unfamiliar roads out towards Harlesden (I remain desperate for fresh pastures)

The Wembley stadium is a land mark that seems to define every route I take west or north-west.

I found this massively dense cemetery. They were really packing them in.