I love to run though I didn’t always. In fact, I just joined fun runs because I felt that it would at least give me a little exercise and help me stay healthy. But just this summer, I began making it a habit and tried running at least 3 times every week! It’s a lot of fun when you have friends to join you, and I thank my friend Ivica Say for always running with me regardless of our busy work schedules!
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They say running shoes are meant to last around 350 to 550 miles, or more or less 850km. It is recommended to buy new shoes after reaching this particular mileage not just because it doesn’t look good anymore but because it also puts you at risk of injury. Over time, our shoes lose stability and the ability to absorb shock. I’ve been using mine for over 3 years…. so what do you think? Almost time to buy new ones? Yep, I think so to… but not just yet.
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I’ve been running a lot, and my shoes have been through a lot, but there’s still more to come!
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A couple of weeks ago, I was given these new pair of shoes to try out. I know the rule about not using new shoes during a run, but I figured… I’d just be running 5km, what’s there to lose? So being the very persistent person I was, I went for it. I finished the first kilometer of the race in a jiffy and was just about ready to break my PR. But as I was doing the 2nd kilometer, my ankle and the back of my foot started hurting! The shoe was rubbing against my skin so much that it was starting to wound. And by the 3rd kilometer, my skin rubbed off and in place were 2 really painful wounds on each foot! Ouch! I tried to ask for some band-aid from the nearby ambulance, but the band-aid didn’t stick and quickly fell off! Geez!!! The pain was killing me!
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And though I hated that the thought even crossed my mind… I had to do the unthinkable. It was time to go BAREFOOT! Yeeeessss! I walked/ran the last 2 kilometers of the race barefoot and holding my shoes on one hand! Boy did I feel embarrassed! But then again, there are a lot of barefoot runners, at least I can now say, “I KNOW HOW YOU FEEL!”
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As much as I loved the shoes, they just weren’t the shoes for me. At least not yet.
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So because of that unfortunate/ funny and forever memorable experience, I switched back to my old shoes. Ahhh… old and reliable, just the way I like it! I ran a few more races after the incident, mostly just the 5k runs and around two 10k runs. My shoes were good and perfect… or so I thought. Until one day, a friend of mine, Francis Razon of EatPrayRun, invites me to join him to run 10km…RAIN OR SHINE! I wanted to run badly that day as part of my training so I agreed to go despite the strong rains and winds that kept pushing me back into the house. I was hesitant, but after battling with the rain (Typhoon Falcon), I finally got into a cab and headed to Bonifacio Global City.
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The rain poured… and it poured hard! Not just cats and dogs, but with cows and goats too! (I’m sure you know what I mean) And like 4 crazy brave runners, we charged the storm! It was time to run in the rain! Weeeeee!!!! While my 3 companions tried their best not to step on the puddles, I kept jumping on them! Splish splash splish splash! Weeeee!!! I felt just like a little kid playing in the rain! (haha) We ran and we ran and the rain just poured continuously! I didn’t even notice how long we were already running until I checked my watch. Who knew running in the rain could have been so much fun?? But then I felt something poking my foot. I figured it was a piece of stone but no matter how hard I tried to find it, I just didn’t see anything inside my shoe. I later on realized, my shoe was falling apart! The supposedly soft cushion underneath was starting to shoot upward and was poking my foot! After running for more than an hour and finishing our 10km run, I felt good except for a small wound on my foot caused by my worn out shoe. I then looked down and laughed as I saw my shoe had a hole in it! My shoes aren’t built for a trail run or for running in the rain, and that’s what happen when you force it to!
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Running in the rain was one of my best running experiences! Sad to say, it wasn’t for my shoes! I didn’t mind the hole. I could live with that for a while. But I couldn’t stand that poking thing on my foot from the worn out cushion underneath! Oh well at least my shoes got their final hurrah before they say goodbye to the world of running!
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Goodbye old friend.
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So without any other choice, I guess it’s time to find a new pair of shoes so I can go on with my running! …or maybe I should just quit? …. Nah! of course not!
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What brand do I get anyway? I recently heard of this new brand of shoes that’s coming to the Philippines all the way from Europe! Besides looking good on the outside, this new brand also sounds very promising. They say running with these will actually make you feel as if you were RUNNING ON CLOUDS! Because of its new technology, it is able to help runners like myself RUN FAST, RUN LIGHT and RUN STRONG. Perfect! Just what I need! It’s ON! On-Running, I mean!
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Yep! ON is actually the brand! Catchy name if you ask me! If I want to keep running at a steady pace and use my shoes again running in the rain, then ON might just be the brand for me! Its shoe, the Cloudsurfer, allows runners to run fast and go light because of its CloudTec 3D cushioning system! On the other hand, for high-impact runs, long training sessions and endurance runs, the Cloudrunner might just be the perfect shoe. Hmm… One for me please, US size 8 (Eur 39)!
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For more info on the shoes,
check out the website: http://www.on-running.com/
or the Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/On-Running/149534878405631
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Happy running everyone! Stay safe!
