I thought I'd write up a quick review on my running shoes seeing as today is the first time I've been jogging in them and I've had some real issues with my legs when running before.

Straight out of the box they're comfy, they fit really nicely and my toes have plenty of room in. They were fitted by a specialist running shop and although they feel massive for casual wear, they are the perfect size for running in.

For the previous few years, I've had serious pain in my shins whilst running and also for a day or two afterwards. Having been to Advance Performance in Peterborough and having a gait analysis, I was told I was rolling my feet inwards slightly when running(over-pronating) which could be causing the shin pain.

I ran 1.5 miles in the Saucony's this evening and it's the first excercise I've done in a long long time. I had a bit of a twinge in my right shin during the first couple of minutes, and my shins felt quite "hot" whilst running. However, now that I'm back and have cooled down and stretched there is no soreness or stiffness in my shins at all.

The shoes were wonderfully cushioned and I could "feel" the road at the same time.

I'm not going to say I'd recommend them to everyone, obviously they won't suit everyones running style, but I would recommend that everyone gets their gait analysed and shoes fitted professionally. If I'd done that a few years ago, maybe I'd not have been in so much pain!

The shoes cost £70 at A.P in Peterborough with no extra cost for the gait analysis, however if you're not buying shoes on the day, they do charge £25 for the analysis alone.

Target time (1.5miles), 22yr old female = 14m 24s

My time = 13m 30s

Push ups (1 minute) = 10
Sit ups (1 minute) = 23

I'm quite chuffed with myself that I managed to do the run so quickly, I was really worried that I'd be nearer 15m 30s that I went out so quick I only just managed to run 3/4 of a mile without stopping.

Really enthusiastic to carry on with my training and keep improving my times now!!

Got a 25 minute bike ride tomorrow evening, no times or goals for that, it's just to keep my cardio fitness going.

Yay!!

So, after months of making excuses and putting starting the programme off, Monday is the day! My best friend is going to be doing the fitness programme with me so that I'm not fighting a losing battle mentally and she's doing an amazing job of keeping me motivated!

I've not done any excercise for a couple of years now, so I'm prepared for my initial 1.5mile time and push up & sit up numbers to be shockingly poor. This will just give me a lot more scope to improve though.

Tomorrow is my last day of eating as much as I want and of whatever I want too! I'm not going on a rabbit food diet along with the fitness thing, I'm just going to eat sensibly and not eat twice as much as I should. I'm also cutting down on sugary drinks and foods.

I'm working all day Monday, so after work I'll be doing a 1.5mile timed run, as many sit ups as I can in 1 minute and as many push ups as I can in 1 minute. It's an assesment day so that I can build on the basic fitness I have. From day 2 onwards, it's all hard work aiming towards running a sub 14min 24sec 1.5mile and doing as many situps/pushups as possible in a minute.

Wish me luck!!!

In the past I've had serious issues with pain down the front of my shins when I've been running. I've finally got off my backside and been to a specialist running shop called Advance Performance in Peterborough now though, wow, those guys and girls really know what they're talking about!

I went along not knowing what I needed or wanted and was met with the most honest and friendly shoe sales assistant I've ever come across! He asked me lots of questions about what I wanted to do in the running shoe, what kind of surface I'd be running (or staggering - in my case) on, how far would I be running etc etc.

After establishing what it was that I wanted and any medical issues or injuries that I have (the shin pain being the obvious one) he put me on a treadmill in a pair of "neutral" running shoes. Whilst I was jogging on the treadmill he filmed the back of my ankles, when I'd finished he talked me through what was on the replay screen. I was landing on the outside of my feet and rolling quite substantially inwards. They offer this filming service (otherwise known as Gait Analysis) free of charge when you buy a pair of running shoes, which I thought was excellent service!

He seemed to think this rolling action (Over Pronation if you want to get technical) could certainly be contributing to the shin pain I'd experienced. He went off and came back with two different pairs of running shoes. He let me try both pairs on the treadmill, again filming me running each time, talked me through what was different and then even let me run outside in the carpark in them!

Once we'd found the better pair, he then made 100% sure of the size and that was me sorted.

It took about an hour from start to finish, I've got the best suited trainer to my feet and running style and should hopefully find that my shin issues are lessened or totally eradicated! I've been wearing them in around the house but I'll be running in them for the first time on Monday, I'll post a progress report!

I would 100% recommend that any runner of any ability heads to Advance Performance or somewhere similar, because £70 spent on all that service and product means that I've now got exactly what I want and what my feet/legs need. Can't go wrong with that!

Right, the idea behind me getting a blog is so that I can document my progress as I progress through an RAF fitness regime in preparation to me joining up. I'm also working towards running the London Marathon, so my success (or failure) in this 6 week regime could make or break that dream!

I'm hoping to write on here either every day, or every other day and just update it with snippets of how I'm getting on and any problems I encounter. I've had a fair few problems with my shins when running in the past, so this could well be the focus of my early posts!

Might not sound like everyones idea of a fun blog, but it's mainly for me to view my progress