There is almost nothing I dislike more or is harder for me to see through properly than a rest week. Since my official marathon training starts next week I'm on a self imposed week of rest so that my body can recover a little from the shock of running again. I'm still running, but just a few miles a few days this week.

One of the things I've been reminded of now that I've started running again is the mental state I get into when running, kinda like a meditative trance. I hear my breathing, the plodding of my footsteps but my mind is clear.
I was never quiet able to get to the same level while riding bikes. When I was on the bike my mind would wonder and seem somewhat rested after the ride. But while running my mind goes blank. All of my senses are there, I see the butterflies, coyotes and turkeys like I did last weekend at Haggerman.

I take everything in and everything is clearer than any other time. When I think back to these runs, even runs from 25 years ago I can vividly remember certain scenes.

For example I can remember one run with a friend through the streets of Dallas. We were both in Junior High, we were not talking, just running. I can still picture that in my mind like I'm still there. Another time I ran through west Sherman to Downtown and back home again. It was near freezing outside and it was a little wet, that run may rank as one of my favorites ever.

Mental awareness is one of the benefits of exercise in general. Of course you can't get to this state if your distracted by pain caused by wearing the wrong or worn out shoes. But when you walk into the shoe store you look at the wall and you get dizzy. So many selections, so many colors, and lots of designs and gimmicks that make one brand better than the other. So what's the key to getting the right shoe?

Well finding out what kind of feet you have is the first step, literally. Most feet will generally fall into three categories. Normal, high, and low arches. How do you know what type of foot you have? Stand up and put some weight on your feet. What does your arch do? Does it stand way up, can you fit a golf ball under your foot? If this is the case you have a high arch. Does your arch almost touch the ground? This means you have a low arch. If you are neither one of these or in the middle then you have a normal arch.

What's the difference? Well if you are flat footed you are probably an over pronater, since you don't have much of an arch to give support your feet will roll inward. You can get shoes designed for this that will help maintain stability while you walk or run.

If you have a high arch you may be an under pronator. This means your foot will roll to the outside, so you should try some shoes that are a little more flexible or cushioned.

If you have normal feet you can try a variety of shoes until you find one that's right. Generally you will be in the middle ground when it comes to arch size in shoes.

The next thing you need to do is talk to a shoe salesman that will ask you the right questions. They may be able to look at the wear on an old pair of shoes to help decide what kind of shoe is best for you.

Other questions to ask or how much do you run now? How much do you plan on in the next four or five months? Where are you running? Trails and grassy surfaces are different than the street or the track.

You will have better luck getting good shoes if you take the time to visit a good running specific store where you can try on several different pairs and talk to the salespeople, who more than likely are runners, about what you might need. There is no way I can cover or do I claim to know all there is to know about picking out shoes. With this little bit of knowledge though you will be better able to communicate with your sales person.

Once you get a decent pair of shoes your feet will be happy, and you can go out and meditate while you run.