Shoes

I go through this phase of having to find the ultimate pair of running shoes. Tell me I’m not the only one? I’ve gotten a little better at it though and thought you would like to follow me through this process.
In the past I would get the ‘new shoe itch’ and just randomly go buy a new pair that looks cool. Well, time after time, this has proven to be a bad decision. It usually ends with several miles placed on my new shoes, which in turn cause me arch pain, knee instability, or bleeding toe nails. I then go buy my old faithful Asics and carry on.

Honestly there’s nothing wrong with these guys, they have served me well for over hundreds, and I mean hundreds of miles. I can’t help but be intrigued by what else is out there.

Last time I tried minimalist shoes- I loved them! They felt light and fast and they looked great too. I would love to continue to run in them, but I know I need a bit more support. After my last injury that just took WAY too long to heal, I learned that lesson. I will retire them to spin class only-sorry guys.

I’ve done some research. Now shoe research is hard because the descriptionschool make them  all sound great. They use all the same buzz words to entrap you-‘Fly through your runs’, ‘Take your run to the next level’, ‘Light and fast on your feet’, ‘Smooth and responsive ride’-as if all of the talent comes from your shoes…This makes it somewhat confusing since they ARE shoe sales men and that selling shoes IS their goal.
I’ve been to the specialist at Fleet feet and know I need a neutral shoe-and I now know to stay away from the stability shoes-learned that from Mizumos = arch pain, and stay away from the minimalists-sorry pure flow that’s you.

So if you can’t go by what you read, and the wrong shoes = injury, what’s next? I went to Dicks and checked out the clearance rack first…nothing really on sale. They throw some floor samples in there to trick you but they are the same price as the other ones-nice try guys.

I put on a new pair of my Asics Cumulus and used them for comparison-since comparing old to new would be silly. I tried on some Nikes and Brooks, only neutral fit, and picked the two best ones to take home for a test drive.

Nike Pegasus zoom

 Nike lunerglide 

I’ll let you know who wins after I give them both a fair trial. Then of course, the lesser of the two will need to go back on the shelf.

What do you like to run in?
Do you have this NEEEED to change it up, like me? What is that?