Tuesday, October 19, 2010

New Shoes

There will be cake this week (or cookies), once my camera/computer/internet settle their differences.

In the meantime, guess what? I bought new shoes! I’ve been long overdue – runners should get new shoes every 300-400 miles, or about every 4 months. Through the pounding of many many miles, shoes break down and lose shock absorption, cushioning and stability. The mid-sole tends to break down first, and can cause over-use injuries (i.e. shin splints, joint pain, etc.). So unless you’re going all-out and doing the barefoot thing, new shoes are a must.

And they feel so good! If I could run in new shoes every week I would be a very happy person. Like new socks or clean sheets they just feel like happiness. (Don’t be alarmed, I change my socks and sheets much more often then my shoes!)

I’ve been wearing the same shoes almost exclusively since junior high – Asics neutral, the newest incarnation of which is the 2150. But due to all the shenanigans of this year, I thought that maybe it was time for a change.

To some people (i.e. my dad), running shoes are a religion. He orders boxes of shoes, testing them out, taking them for a run, seeing what he likes. Something hurts? New shoes. Feeling sore? New shoes. Tired? New shoes.

And then there’s the insoles. I’ve always had orthodics, because I have example-on-the-training-room-wall weird feet. My dad loves insoles just as much as he loves shoes. Some people’s fathers tinker with tools in the garage – mine creates Frankenstein-like insoles on the back porch. 

He cuts them up, super-glues them back together, and makes his own orthodics. Heel lifts, extra arch support, whatever you need can probably be solved with the proper adhesive and an assortment of extra insoles (leftover from all the shoes, obviously!). You’d think that an alternative insole was the answer to the world’s problems…who knows? Maybe it is. We all need a little extra support now and then.

Anyway, this Sunday I ran to a running store to get myself some new shoes. Instead of my go-to Asics, I changed things up with a pair of Mizuno Wave Alchemy 10. They felt good on the treadmill in the store, so here we go!

It’s important to walk around in new shoes before running in them to accustom your feet to a new feel. So I’ve been rocking the running-shoes-at-work look (oh so trendy!), and I’m looking forward to taking them for a real run tonight.

How often do you get new shoes? Which ones do you like?