The afternoon shopping expedition

[mdlbear]

My afternoon shopping expedition was, I think, an unqualified success. Got one set each of five and ten pound wrist/ankle weights at Play It Again Sports on Camden Avenue, and a pair of New Balance 1010 running shoes at their store in Santana Row. Also picked up some catalogs in Orvis -- I've always been intrigued by their pages in various airlines' seatback catalogs. In particular, they had a carry-on rod-and-reel case that looks to be about the right size for my travel guitar plus a little bit of other stuff. I'll have to bring it in and check.

My pace seems a little quicker than formerly. We'll see how long that lasts.

Comments

Running Shoes. Yes!

[andyheninger.livejournal.com]

Running shoes are good, with way more cushioning in the heels than any other type of shoe, as others have already noted. If your problems are being caused by coming down to hard on your heels, I suspect that they've got a good chance of making a big difference. I've been using them for walking and normal all-around use for years, and like them a lot.

I need a wide shoe too, and finding wide sizes is definitely a problem. They're made, but I haven't found a store that reliably stock them. The last pair I bought I ended up ordering on line, after spending hours and hours looking in local stores with no success.

You mentioned that bicycling gave you knee problems. This isn't uncommon, and might be fixable. Too long of a crank (they do come in sizes), the foot position on the pedal (generally only an issue with toe clips or cleats), or seat too low are all common causes.

A shoe designed for bicycling, with a very stiff, essentially rigid, sole is easier on the foot, but I don't know if it makes any difference to the knees or not.

And with that, I have to show a few pictures from my ride this afternoon, leaving from home, cutting through Ranch San Antonio park, heading out Foothill Blvd and Stevens Canyon Road to Stevens Creek Reservoir, and from there up Montebello Road to the top. It's a pretty ride, one of my favorites.

Looking towards Mountain View and the south end of the bay from near the top. The big excavation is Stevens Creek Quarry, which they carefully hide from view from any of the more commonly used roads. Elevation here is about 2500 ft.

Looking back towards San Jose from the entrance to Ridge Winery, about a mile from the top.

Re: Running Shoes. Yes!

[mdlbear]

Thanks for the pictures!

New Balance seem to go up to EE in widths, which is apparently just barely enough for me. They've gotten good reviews; I'll see how well they work tomorrow.

Re: Running Shoes. Yes!

[andyheninger.livejournal.com]

I think it might be safest do do a few walks at the old, slower pace and without the weights first, to make sure that your feet get along with them OK before ramping things up.

Re: Running Shoes. Yes!

[mdlbear]

Good suggestion. I'll skip the ankle weights; I think the wrist weights are safe, being unrelated.

I'll also take my walk in the neighborhood today -- easier to cut it short and come home if things go wonky.