oh i'm not saying they are bad, i bought them myself, but they are made for certain foot types that's all. luckily i ahve a tennis and golf co. locally so i was able to talk to someone. i love my sauconys i hear those and asics are the best you can buy. I don't know if there is anything online where you can look it up to find out the proper shoe for you, but make due with what you have by all means. i was simply providing possible reasons for my they make you ache.

Well, I have been looking around online, and apparently the kind of shoe I should be looking for (according to Runner's World) is a motion-control shoe. These are made for overpronators (no idea if that is me) and are good for people with flat feet or heavy people (those are definitely both me).

So, looking around, I found several different brands and models, but:
a) I'm not likely to find them in this town
b) The only Canadian prices I could find are, well, unpleasant - $130-150

You and all your fancy shoes. Back in my day we'd have to run 20 miles barefoot. Over broken glass. Carrying 5 sacks of potatoes on our backs. Ye have it easy!

And we liked it that way!

First, time to catch up on the last 2 days' entries:

May 18

Still in my slump. Feel bleah and generally wretched.

Breakfast - steel-cut oats with hemp seeds and agave nectar, 1 small square of cornbread

Snack - 1 banana

Lunch - buffalo burger on ww bun, 1 large square of cornbread

Snacks - 1 orange, 1 cup dry cereal

Supper - buffalo burger on 1/2 of a ww bun, a big heap of oven fries, and veggie plate (lettuce/tomato/cucumber/celery/pineapple)

Dessert - 1oz dry roasted peanuts and 1oz m&m's

Nighttime snack - 1 slice ww bread w/almond butter, 1 cup milk

Exercise - 45 minute walk - tried the new shoes. They made my right ankle hurt quite a bit form about 8-15 min in, then it settled down. That afternnon and evening, though my ankle continued to hurt quite a bit.

May 19

Felt more wretched and dispirited than ever before. Wanted to give up and go back to my old ways. Everything was tinged with bleak despair. I didn't try very hard to eat carefully today.

Breakfast - steel-cut oats with hemp seeds and agave nectar, 1 slice ww toast w/margarine, 1/2 cup milk

Lunch - big-ass roast beef sandwich (3-4 oz roast beef, 2 thick slices ww bread, 1tbs lt cream cheese)

Snacks throughout workday - 1 pear, 1 orange, 3/4 cup dry cereal

Supper - gave up and just ate something expedient. 6oz chicken strips, 8 perogies with butter

Evening snacks - 3oz dry roasted peanuts, 1oz m&m's

Exercise - none. zero. zip. nada. squat. bugger all.

Bringing us to today.
Woke up after a half-decent sleep with new determination. Started the day having a lie-in and reading, then hit the Total Gym and the bike for 45 minutes each. Just finished breakfast (more steel-cut oats). Ready to carry on with my life.
Tomorrow I will be going to Kamloops (3 hour drive) with the family to shop, go to the zoo, etc. There is a speciality running store there that should be able to help me find the right kind of shoes to wear.
This also means I am not likely to be posting between Thursday morning and Friday night.

Decided to get my actual bike out of the shed and take it for a spin.

Turns out I am more weak and pathetic than I thought possible.

Rode 15 minutes out on the river trail, to the river. The trail in not completely flat, but is at no point steep in any way. To the river it is gently downhill (I'd guess it drops a couple hundred feet over about 3-4 miles).

Took 30 minutes to get back, and yes, there was some walking involved. I had trouble on the gentlest inclines, even in low gear. It was embarrassing - or would have been if anyone had seen me. I felt shame anyway.

Now, it is true that I haven't actually ridden my bike on over four years, and even then I lived in the flat part of town. It is also true that I have a crappy bike that doesn't like to actually change gears.

I still should have been able to do better than that. My body sucks when it comes to actual exertion. That's one of the reasons I walk so much. I can walk for hours and hours - I can run for a few seconds.

Obviously this is something I am going to have to work my way into. Should have known it wasn't as easy as, um, riding a bike.

Oh - and my ass hurts.

the bike is good cardio tho. really good.

i just read your post about a small town, ha i lived in one that was pop 470. yeah.

Funny how real life biking is so much harder than on a stationary bike!!! Hey.. you did it though, and good on you for that!

Don't let things get you down Cord you are doing great!!! Remember the bigger picture, a few days of being in a funk and even slipping doesn't change why you want to do this!

Hi Cord, first time in here. Looks like we're both pretty big fellas. Couple things:
Running shoes: Overpronation refers to a foot, typically with "flat feet", where your ankle tends to roll inwards on striking the ground. A motion control shoe is exactly right. I bought a set of ASICS Gel Foundations, that were specifically designed for this and they are extremely supportive. That being said, my weight is still too high to do any running without doing damage to my knees. Great walking shoes though...

Biking; ahh... now we're talking... us big guys do much better with this sport (most of the time), being as how there is no real impact (we'll discuss our sore asses another time). I got back on mine and was huffing and puffing hard the first few times. I'm lucky if I finished 4 miles at about 11 mph. It gets easier. Remember, we own (rent?), a larger percentage of gravity than a lot of people. Because of this, even the low grade hills will cramp our style. Don't give up, it, it gets better, I cycle all the time now and I'm still in the over 300 lb category and a former smoker. I consistently average around 16 mph for 15-25 mile rides. It's all just a matter of getting used to it.

As for the asses... well, yeah, if you don't get used to it, then the saddle may be to blame for some of it. Your body needs to toughen up to a degree, but if that still doesn't work, check out a replacement seat. I use an old style Brooks leather saddle (the leather kind that looks like a mediavel torture device with rivets and such), because I find that while it takes getting used to, it keeps... ahem.. sensitive parts from going numb after a long ride... No self induced need for viagra for me thanks.

Hey there, just wanted to pop in and see how all was going. I hope your struggle with the bike doesn't stop you from riding. I think its awesome that you got on the bike after so long of not doing it. Focus on the positive facts... you got up... you rode... you survived!!! Hallelujah!!!
I also suffer with over pronation of my feet and I went through many running shoes until I finally went for a professional fitting. Huge difference, I didnt realize how little support my shoes gave me, until I actually felt what a properly fitted shoe felt like.
I can't run *yet* but hopefully in my near future.
Keep up the great work, and...hope your Ass feels better soon..lol
Michelle

Mike - yeah, the bike is better cardio than the stationary bike, fer shure. Gets a lot more of your body involved.

Kori - yeah, I thought the stationary bike was supposed to get me ready for the real thing! Not even close. Totally different when the pedals are resisting with your body weight (which I have plenty of). Been quite a while since I was on an actual bike.

Cabbie - welcome to my space! I'm hoping to get decent shoes on Friday. I know they will be expensive, but my health and feet are worth it, I think.
I'm not too worried about the bike seat - it is always going to hurt the first few times, until I get used to it.
And yeah, gravity gets me down.

Michelle - thanks for popping in. I intend to keep riding, for sure. Today I wanted to see what the first time was going to feel like. I hurt all over right now. But that will get better - my technique will improve, I'll get more strength and stamina.

As for running - that's a long way off, I think. Between my current difficulty with high-intensity cardio (even jogging is high-intensity for me right now), and my bad knees, I'm going to wait until I am quite a bit smaller before I start trying to run. I'm thinking maybe when I hit 250 I'll give it a shot.

On Father's Day there is a 10k run in Williams Lake. I'm going to walk it with a buddy of mine. It'll be my Father's Day present. I'm going to take the day off work for it. Should be fun.

Too much to do today to take a lot of time here, but I wanted to post the results of this week's weigh-in.

290lbs - down 2.

Pretty happy there, given that I felt extra slump-y this last week.

Hope everyone has a great day today!

AWESOME!!!! Good for you

That's fantastic Cord! Well done on the loss