My Visit to Playmakers

I made it to Playmaker's yesterday and was not disappointed. I found one of the guys I had been referred to, which was a bonus. He had me take off my shoes, roll up my pants and walk 20 feet and back so he could get a good look at the way I walk and what my feet need from a shoe. After looking at how I had worn my old shoes he had an idea of what would fit me best. He pulled about 10 different styles away from the wall so I could look over each. Then I chose 3 different shoes, all different brands to try on. To try them on, I not only put them on my feet but I ran around in them, walked around the store, swifted weight and really got a feel for the shoe before trying on the next one. Then I had it down to two different shoes. Both were great shoes, I really could not go worse than the old pair and everything was like a miracle in comparision. So I put one of each and walked around some more. I felt like I had a winner. Then I asked about any sales in a shoe that may fit me. He pulled out a shoe from last year that was very similar to the one I had choosen. I tried that one on while still wearing the other and walked around some more. The only difference I could feel was in the middle foot support and I liked the original choice best so I went with those. The other would have saved me $20 bucks, and normally that would have been a done deal. But I really wanted "the best shoe for me." So that's what I did. I ended up with a pair of Asic Gel 2120's. Love them! I ran 1 1/2 miles in them last night and was more than pleased. First of all, I broke my mile mental block and secondly my feet and legs felt good. Woohoo!

While I was still at Playmaker's I wanted to look into watches. I have not had a watch in many, many years. I have been wanting a watch since I began my training. In the fall I had a stopwatch, do you think I can find it anywhere? Um, not so much. So I found a display of watches and asked for assistance. The gentleman that came over was wonderful. He was a triathlete. He knew what he was talking about and owned one of the watches so he could truly answer my questions. Brilliant! Timex makes a whole series called Ironman Triathlon. They are perfect for runners of any kind and are water resistant making them good for pool use. The one I chose has a 30 lap memory. Love it! While I was running my 1 1/2 mile last night, each time I hit my lap mark I hit the split button and it recorded what lap I was on and how fast I ran that split. NO MORE WONDERING if I am on lap 10 or 11. Hit the button and whalaa...my watch tells me. Brilliant! It made the run so much more enjoyable, I was no longer focusing on which lap I was on and I was able to relax into the run and focus more on form and breathing. NOTE: For those interested in picking up one of these watches I found them $15 cheaper at Wal-Mart. Worth every penny I paid for it, especially with the added input from the sales guy, it's an even better deal at Wal-Mart.

This is my watch, just a different color. Mine is more of a teal. It also comes in pink.

So I walked out of Playmaker's having spent some money but very happy with what I found. Need a new shoe? Go to Playmaker's! Seriously.