After the Angels 5K, I realized that it was time to leave the comfort of the treadmill to hit the pavement again. The weather is staying nice here in Southern California. So, I no longer have the excuse for only training indoors. It’s taken a little more than a week to make the mental shift. However, tomorrow, I will start training outdoors again!

Using the training plan that Jeff Galloway put together for last year’s Disneyland Half Marathon (with making the appropriate date adjustments), I have a plan in place that officially starts on April 30th. So, for now, I’m taking parts of the plan on a trial spin with the hope that by the time April 30th rolls around, it will already be part of my routine.

While I was doing the indoors, run base building of my training, I would do various combinations of run/walk ratios on the treadmill, some abs work, some upper body weight work, lower body weight work and end the workout on the elliptical machine. I did this 3 times a week (with a few 4 workout weeks). Now that I’m taking my running to the streets, the plan is as follows:

Monday – Rest Day

Tuesday – Running

Wednesday – At the gym with weights and elliptical

Thursday – Running

Friday – Rest Day

Saturday – Running

Sunday – At the gym with weights and elliptical

Once I start on the training plan to prepare for the Disneyland Half Marathon, the Saturday runs will be my long runs. Tuesdays and Thursdays will consist of running for 30-40 minutes. I’ll go more into details with this plan as I get closer to April 30th.

In addition to adjusting my training routine, I was in need of new running shoes. The wear and tear on my previous shoes were pretty evident after running in the Knott’s Coaster Run in March. So, I started researching the best shoes and what to look for in good running shoes. One thing I kept seeing was the need to go to a running store. Where I live (Pasadena, California), we have a pretty good running store called Run With Us. They had really good reviews on yelp. So, I went in on Saturday to see if my new pair of running shoes would be found.

The Yelp reviews proved to be entirely true. The sales associate had me take off my shoes and walk for a bit around the store. Then, he told me what kind of shoe I should be looking for and why. I have a slight overpronunciation and needed a good stability shoe. He measured my feet. I learned that one foot is slightly longer than the other. Wierd. I never knew that before. He went to the storage area and brought out 3 different pairs of shoes that he thought would be best for me. I tried on a pair of Brooks Ravenna 4 first. The experience was like, “Where have you been all my life?” These shoes felt amazing! Then, I tried on a pair of Saucony Progrid Guide 5 with were a lighter version of the Brooks shoes. The last was an Asics shoe (unsure of which Asics shoe it was). I wasn’t a fan of the Asics one. Since I liked the Brooks and the Saucony so much, the associate suggested that I put one on one foot and the other on the other foot. That made my choice clear. I chose…

The Brooks Ravenna 4.

I loved these shoes! It was pretty exciting for me to purchase running shoes at a running store. Kind of made me feel like a real runner. I also made sure to look around to see all of the other gear they sold for future purchases. I know that some of what they sell might be priced higher. However, it’s good to support the local running shops and get recommendations from actual runners. (My sales associate ran in a local 5K that morning.) If you’re in Pasadena, I highly recommend this store for all your running needs! Check them out.