Dressing the Part

Today I made my first step toward my boxing goal. I went to the store and purchased running shoes.

As  mentioned last time, I’m no where near in shape. So I thunk to myself. What would be the best way to start getting into shape?

Why running of course. With running I could increase my endurance and also start getting into the habit of, you know, exercising. I figure it’s the best way to start some good habits without breaking the bank with a gym membership or expensive equipment.

First things first, I need proper shoes.

I went into City Sports with a list of potential shoe candidates. Or, at least, I thought I had. It turns out I left that at home. So I ended up staring at the Wall of Shoes without a clue. Until City Sports Employee (I’ll call him Tobey since he reminded me of Tobey Maguire), came up and asked me if I needed help.

Once it was determined that I knew nothing about running, he asked if I knew what kind of shoe I needed.

“I need…stable…shoe.”

“Ok, well these are our stability shoes. They’re more for overpronators.”

“Oh I have normal arch! I step on paper and it’s normal!”

“Well, someone with a normal arch usually isn’t an overpronator, but if you take off your shoes and socks I can see what type of step you have.”

So it turns out I’m an overpronator (when I step, I turn my foot inward, causing my arch to flatten more than is normal) and I need stability shoes (shoes with extra support for people with freak feet). A stability shoe helps to correct for my tendency to step wrong and keep me from needlessly injuring myself while running.

After trying on three different shoes, I picked the Saucony Progrid 3, which just felt damn nice. Which is what I’m wearing on my feet right now, cause why the hell not?

So now I have the right shoes (hopefully).  Now I just need to see if I’m capable of sticking to an exercise schedule. Which means drafting an exercise schedule. I have two weeks to get into some kind of shape before I try out a free boxing class. Excitement!

Dylan Charles