As you start your marathon training, don't forget...

to break in your new shoes early. And on short runs.

This is a Runners Lounge Take it and Run Thursday post. The theme this week is to finish this thought: "As you start your marathon training, don't forget..."

And the above is my answer. So simple, right? Yeah . . . but when you DON'T do that? Oooh, the pain. I lived it and I will tell it.

I ran a marathon in October 2004 and with about a month to go in my training, I decided I needed a new pair of running shoes. I bought a new pair of my trusty Brooks, laced them up and wore them for my Sunday long run. I had planned on a 12-miler, a dip down in length before my 22-miler planned for the following Sunday.

The shoes had other plans.

We started out fine. New shoes -- no problem! I felt like I had a little pep, in fact. Until mile 8, when it all went downhill and my feet began to ache. My shoes were chafing my heels and pinching the tops of my feet. It was all bad and I had to stop my run at the 10th mile. The worst part was that my feet were in pain for most of the following week and I ended up postponing my 22-mile run to the next Sunday -- closer to the race than I had wanted, but my only choice.

Next time I train for a marathon, I will break in my new running shoes earlier in the training process, on a shorter run. Had I taken the shoes out for a 4-mile run, I would have been fine. The long run? Not so much. Another lesson learned.