New Shoes for a New Me

As I've posted before, I'm training for the Flying Pig 5K race on April 30, 2011. Over the last couple of weeks I've been doing interval training through Couch-to-5K (C25K). It's a nine-week program, but since I have been so out-of-shape for so long, I'm easing into it by doing my interval walk/jog sessions 2 or 3 days a week. On New Year's Eve I actually walked a full 5K (3.1 miles) in just over an hour, but most of my sessions have been more like 30 minutes or so.

The one thing I've noticed, however, and as I've also been told by numerous runners...no matter how good of shape you're in, you MUST have a good pair of shoes. I had picked up a new pair of running shoes at the local "big box" retailer in early December, but my legs (and even my neck) were not doing very well with the added impact from the exercise.

Today, I broke down and went to a local running shoe store and had a professional fitting done. The sales staff was great and, after trying on probably 6 different pairs of shoes, settled on a nice pair, the Asics Gel-Cumulus 12. They were uber-comfortable in the store and even with a quick jog up and down the sidewalk at the store, I was convinced. Tonight, I took them out on the road for the first time...and OUCH. The shoes feel fine and the impact is certainly minimized, but the balls of my feet are KILLING me. I'll be going back tomorrow to see what may be wrong or if I may need an insert of some kind...I'm certainly open to suggestions.