Shoes...

Remember a while back, when I told you about how I gave up my fancy running shoes and went bought a cheap, generic pair of Saucony's at Big 5? My totally neutral shoes that I fell in love with? You don't? Ok, well go back and read that post. It's ok....I'll wait

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You're back? Great! That's some good readin' isn't it? Ok, so it's been several months and like all good running shoes, mine have started to break down a bit and it's time for new ones. No biggie, Big 5 runs sales all of the time and I know I can find mine fairly cheap again. End of story, right? WRONG!

My husband has recently picked up the book Born To Run. He keeps spitting all of these facts out to me and he's told me on more than one occasion that I ought to read the book. "You'll really enjoy it" he says. Great. He bought the book ~ so I can read it when he's done, right? WRONG! He bought it for his Kindle. I, on the other hand, do not own a Kindle. Oh, he hints that I'll own one around Christmas time, but for now I'm screwed. I've got the Kindle app on my iPhone. It'll be a miracle if I don't go blind trying to read on that thing. Between the size and fact that it's backlit (Kindle is not, it's got "e-ink") my eyes feel like they are crossing after just five minutes.

So, anyway...as you know from the way I eat, I'm pretty much a naturalist anyway, right? So, I guess it's no surprise to me that my feet did not like the fancy smancy shoes and wanted a more neutral shoe, right? So, then does it shock anyone that now I'm looking to take it a step further? I went and tried on the Nike Free shoes today. They were comfy, but I didn't love them. After talking to the sales rep (who is also an avid runner and an aquaintence of mine), she suggested that the Nike Frees may not be the right shoes for me. She watched me run and said I'm not a heel striker (big no no for anyone, terrible for someone with my knee issues) anyway, and that I have a very healthy mid foot strike so she recommended I go one step further and try.......these:

Unfortunately her store was out of them (like most of Western Washington) and no one will be getting them back in until February. I'll just be getting ready to start training for my half at that time, so I dont' want to start changing shoe types then. I made some calls and there happens to be ONE pair of these in my size in my whole county. I'm heading there tomorrow to try them on. Aren't they flippin' AWESOME?!

Oh, I'll also be picking up another pair of my comfy neutral shoes as the Vibrams won't work for long distances until after my feet get adjusted to them. Nearly everything I've read about them online indicates that almost everyone uses these for shorter distance runs to perfect their foot strike, but uses a neutral running shoe for longer distances for the cushioning. I'm just getting ready to start increasing my distance beyond 3 miles, so I plan to do exactly the same thing.

Oh, and these supposedly kick ass for weight lifting shoes. Can't wait to see the looks I get at the gym! I sure hope they fit tomorrow!