Thursday, February 27, 2014

I need new shoes.

After yesterday's declaration to be smarter, I'm reminded that I desperately need new running shoes. I've been running in my PureCadence 3s ever since I declared the death of my Mizuno's during the first 6 miles of my marathon last fall. Don't get me wrong- I really love my PureCadences- they fit my foot like a glove and help move me towards a midfoot strike- but these are not long distance shoes for me. I can run maybe 8 miles in them comfortably and since I'm (supposedly) training for a 20-mile race in 7 weeks, I need to be running a whole lot more than 8 miles. 

So- shoes! What to do, what to do. Despite running regularly for over 2 years now, I feel like maybe I still haven't found my perfect shoe. Do I keep putting my faith in the staff at my favorite running store? I feel like we made a bit of progress last time, as the Wave Inspire 9s worked pretty well for me, but I think there still may be a better shoe out there. I have very unique feet and pretty terrible running form (I'm working on it) as demonstrated during the Emerald City half last summer. Remember this?


I don't know if shoes can help me not run on the outside edge of my foot or not, but I do know that with form like that I'm destined for injury (again).

I've taken the little shoe recommending tests on Brooks & Mizuno, since they are brands I've been running it. I'm sure those are completely accurate, right? Their recommendations:

Brooks Ghost. A neutral shoe, which seems smarter for me than a stability shoe as I obviously don't need extra padding under my arch since my foot is already turning the other direction.


Mizuno Wave Sayonara This shoe is supposed to let my foot do what it wants to do naturally but still have a medium amount of padding to provide enough comfort for long runs.

I also took the test at Running Warehouse but they recommended a trillion different shoes. I have to assume that it's better for someone to see my running in person but after so many conflicting opinions and recommendations from the staff at my local running store I don't even feel that confident in what they are saying. 

How do your choose shoes? Buy & try? Running store recommendation? Whatever is on sale? Somebody help me!

4 comments:

  1. I'm always looking for new running shoes. In 2013 Mizuno screwed up their insole so I can't use any of last years models anymore. I've been watching LeftLane sports to try some basic cheap models of what I normally like.

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    1. I was just reading all the terrible reviews on the newer mizunos! I understand that technology is always advancing, but I feel like shoe companies are trying too hard to fix what isn't broken...

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  2. I have run in the Ghost before and they are great for me but I get the distinct impression that you and I need very different shoes, so I don't know if those are the right one for you...

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    1. So what you're saying is that I probably can't trust the online quiz that only asked 5 questions? :-)

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