Running at the Mouth
It’s all about the experience
The perfect run happens.
You’ll know what I’m talking about.
It’s the one when you finished wishing you could go back out for another lap or that the run would never end. This is the run when your feet barely touched the ground and every single step on the road was effortless.
Yep… this was your Steve Moneghetti run. In fact… you may have even heard a horn toot and call from the car, “Looking good, Mona!” Awesome!! (You have got to love these run endorphins )
Every run is about the experience and you want it to be a good one.
You don’t go out there thinking, “I must run today so that I can cope with another day at work”. You go out there knowing that after it’s going to make you feel great… and then work just happens.
With this in mind, there is one thing I consider vital to help make my run experience better. 
It’s the one thing I choose based on my mood. It’s the piece I use to ‘control’ how I am supposed to run. It’s the item I take the most time over when getting ready for my more important runs and the running item I will always carry as hand luggage when travelling to a race.
… That’s my shoes.
Why? Because running is about the experience, and I know that my shoes are going to help me get that experience.
A couple of years ago one of my runners, Steve Walmsley, messaged me the night before leaving for his major marathon with the dilemma of not knowing which shoe to race in. His choices… Brooks Glycerin or the Brooks Hyperion.
The high mileage training shoe or the newer racer. These are two completely different shoes. So, our conversation was about what experience he wanted from the race. Was it a marathon to race for time, or a marathon to feel less pressured and simply to enjoy.
Steve chose… put the other completely out of sight, flew to Melbourne with only that pair, and on race day… ran like Mona.
PLUS he got a bonus 14 minute PB!! (3:11)
You and I both know that there is a lot more to our running experiences than just a pair of shoes, but we know that getting our shoes right can make that moment in running less painful, more relaxing or maybe even faster.
“Once I chose my shoe that night, I flew to Melbourne the next morning leaving the Glycerin in Brisbane and out of my mind. Once there I could just focus on the run. Melbourne was an awesome run and I hope to reproduce it again one day.”
If you haven’t had your perfect run yet, don’t worry, it will come. And if you feel like every run is hard work… please check your shoes. The enjoyment of running is about your experience and it is so much better when you won’t be thinking about your feet!
See you on the road sometime!
Margot
P.S. I’d love to know your favourite running experience. Message me on [email protected] and tell me when it comes to running what is your single most favourite running moment.