Saturday, January 14, 2012

Hayfever, air cleaners and running shoes

Hey Chia!

I loveeeee that Anna Train! =)

It made me sooo happy because it is super cute and it reminded me of what Christmas was like. At the moment, I am trying to recover from that virus/hayfever thing that has been making me wheeze and cough the past two weeks. As a result, my new years resolution to try and exercise once a day has been shot. =( I was doing so well before. In November I started waking up at around 5am to run before work with a strong stretching session afterwards. I felt awesome!  (if I ignored the fact that I would crash and burn by 9.30pm). But now, with not running since last Wednesday, I already feel like I'm losing fitness! Aurgh!


Hayfever, air cleaners...

I've been really hating this summer. Its either not hot enough to go to the beach (but it has been muggy making us really sweaty), or the pollen index has been crazy, giving me hayfever and sleepless nights! On the positive, Kev was super sweet and started talking about getting me an air cleaner. I actually had no idea about it, and was quite skeptical at the idea. However, we went out to buy one from Myers that was on special, and I ended up convincing Kev to let me use my gift voucher which I had received from work.

My air filter. I called it Homie.

Even though I was skeptical, I was quite excited to try it out once we had got it. As soon as I turned it on, within seconds, my room smelt completely different. Like the air was lighter to breath in. I also realised that my throat was no longer itchy, and I didn't have a blocked nose after staying in my room for a few minutes. It was pretty quiet too. There is this constant hush, which IS quite soothing. I ended up having an awesome sleep! I didn't take any antihistamines that night, and I didn't wake up! Which was awesome if you looked back on my previous nights where I would be taking 3 tablets of Phenergan before I slept. What amused me was that in the morning, as soon as I walked out of my room into the kitchen, I started getting itchy eyes, throat and nose. Haha... my little allergy-free bubble. But I don't want to become too precious. So I've decided I'll only turn it on for sleeping purposes, because I definitely need that.


...and running shoes

So now I have my air cleaner, my focus while recovering as been to find new running shoes. My current ones have served me well. They are almost 4 years old though, and they have caused me numerous instances of rolled ankles. Time for a change! And especially because I received a $220 gift voucher for Foot Locker for my birthday.

I've been reading up on foot types and running styles, in particular I've been reading up on overpronating (where you roll inwards when you run/walk). It's really interesting finding out how you move and how it affects your body. Because I am flat footed, to maintain balance, my weight is not evenly distributed. In fact, when reading some articles, it told me to look at the soles of my shoes and spot where was the most wear, as overpronators would have wear on the outer heel and the inner toe/top part of the shoe.


My current running shoe

I felt like an investigator, someone from CSI. From the evidence I found, I was undoubtedly an overpronator. Now I am trying to find the perfect running shoe, that will support my arches, cushion my heels (as I have noticed that I strike the ground with my heel first), and is comfortable to run in.

So far I am tossing up between ASICS Kayano which has been recommended by a lot of people, and Brooks Trance, which was suggested to me by an Athlete's Foot sales representative. =D Haha. More time for me to ponder! If you would like to find the perfect shoe, this site can help you!

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