Getting in touch with my feminine side.

For a man, I have taken a somewhat unhealthy interest in foot wear over the past few months. I now have a collection of footwear that would rival most women (O.K. I am exaggerating a bit!) However, I currently have on the go 3 pairs of trainers of which 2 pairs are asics 'cushioned' trainers and a pair of saucony fastwitch 'lightweight' trainers. I found out why they are light weight - they have holes in the soles so you get wet feet! There is a dazzling array of trainers out there - cushioned, stability, motion control, racing, training. I'm afraid I am no expert in this field, so far I have been lucky with my 'mmm they feel alright' approach to buying trainers. Up until now and with my maximum distance 45 miles, I have never suffered with major problems with my feet. When I do get my next blister, I will publish my guide of how to deal with blisters!

I also now have a pair of fell running shoes and a pair of cycling shoes with 'clip ons'. They have the added benefit of making you fall off your bike when you come to a stop. One bit of advice is to buy the shoes a little bigger than your natural shoe size as your feet do tend to swell when you have been on them for a few hours and also to avoid lacing them too tight. I am a size 10 and normally wear size 11 trainers for walking, however my wife keeps trying to buy me bigger and bigger trainers as she now thinks I am size 11. I am going to end up looking like a clown rather than an elite international athlete!

As far as training goes, I have been to race walking at the NSC the last couple of nights. The adult class on Tuesday is getting more and more popular with at least 20 people yesterday and a similar number last week. Last night there were complete novices, right through to the likes of Michael George (4 times finisher, P.B. 15 hours 57 mins 0s) and Sean Hands (5 times finisher AND all time fastest Parish Walker 14 hours 47 mins 36s). So get down there next week, meet at 6pm on the running track. I have also been out checking out the Manx Mountain Marathon course and did the 6.5 mile section from St John's to the Round Table yesterday morning.

I heard this weeks music on the radio yesterday and it got me thinking about the stretch of the Parish Walk from Jurby to Douglas...