Thursday, May 3, 2012

Have you ever been in love?

 Back in the 2000-2002 era, aka my best running years, I was absolutely, 100% in love with my Nike Air Prestos. They fit my feet like a glove, they were light weight, and I could REALLY move in them. During that time frame, I cycled through about 3-4, all fitting exactly like its predecessor- you know, back before the manufacture randomly upgrades every 3-4 months, changing the fit and feel. (yes i'm talking to you Saucony)


I owned this exact pair--- so many memories

Once I quit my short stint of track in college, I gave up consistent running till 2010. When I ran my first debauchery of a half marathon in April 2010, I wore some type of Nikes (can't remember which) and my feet / legs / back/ knees/ everything else you can imagine HATED me. I went to fleet feet and they put me in some type of clunky sauconys as well as the berry super feet removable inserts. I HATED them both, but since I had no idea what shoes else to buy, I went with it and then just stopped using the inserts so I could feel lighter
 Fast Forward to February '11 when I developed ITBS- every runner's nightmare- went back to Fleetfeet and they told me if I had started in a stability shoe, I would have avoided ITBS altogether (gee thanks for just NOW telling me) They also recommended I start using my inserts again.  Thus begun my love / mostly hate relationship with the Saucony Progrid Guides- below is my first pair.


The relationship is love/hate because although I LOVE the fact that once I was healed, I haven't had much ITBS issues since,  I hate that they keep upgrading them and it seriously takes me a solid month for my feet to adjust. Randomly enough I don't have issues when I race, but during training runs I feel like I"m moving in S-L-O-W motion and sometimes my feet feel like they are dragging.

The other day, Rock n Roll finally updated their race photos from Saturday and I was shocked at how oblivious I am to what my feet are doing


So I thought, is this picture an actual depiction of how I always run?? Was kind of shocked when I turned over my running shoes to check


YUP!

I'm mildy freaking out about my ultra relay coming up in a few weeks, so decided I should go now to Fleet Feet to test out and break in a new pair.

Convo went a little like this:
Scott: Hi I'm Scott how can I help you today?
Me: Hi Scott, I'm Lisa- I've been in Saucony Progrid guides for a little over a year, they get the job done, and I like them, but I don't love them. I want you to make me fall in love.
Scott: <laughing> I'll see what I can do
Me: No seriously, I used to be inlove with my running shoes in high school and I haven't found a pair yet that fit me... I want that feeling again <saying joking> I want to like my shoes so much that I want to make love to them (yes I really did say that)

After going through a few pair I think I found something worth trying-  Mizuno trimphs

I love this color, but unfortunately the cut of this shoe is different and a 10.5 was a little snug (i wear a size 10 normal shoe) so we had to go up to 11- YIKES- naturally they only had one color so not as pretty.  One thing I'm not sold on is "baby got baaaaaaaaaack" (heel that is) it seems rather clunky, but its not a deal breaker yet

Scott took my inserts out to look at them and said they were pretty spent (there was some buckling and the plastic was changing color where it was bending)
I told him that I just bought replacements in January and have MAYBE ran 350 miles on them. After further inspection he pointed out that I've been using the wrong inserts this whole freaking time because it doesn't cup my heel correctly, thus causing the buckling. I thought about asking him to take a comparison photo to show ya'll, but shyness kicked in. He said the reason they probably put me in berry was because the orange is typically for guys--- I told him not only does he put me in an 11, but now I'm using a guy insert- he really knows how to make a lady feel femine haha.

HUGE difference- again more clunky?!?!

I went on a run last night--- I was still incredibly sore from bootcamp, so the run itself sucked and I can't judge fairly. This weekend I'll be using my old inserts and saucony's for racing just in case i don't like my new kicks. 

Scott said I could come back if neither the shoe or insert works for me, SO I tought I'd pose the question to ya'll

Do you have a running shoe that happens to be a stability shoe (so if you say newton's, any of the brooks pure flow, or  a minimalist shoe, that doesn't help me in my quest for love)

22 comments:

  1. I used to wear Adidas Brevard. Favorite shoe ever! Had about 5 pairs and then they discontinued them:( I have Brooks Adrenaline now but it's not technically a stability shoe. I put superfeet in them. Good luck on your search and I hope your new shoes end up working out. I will be checking back to see what people suggest:)

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  2. I over-pronate so need stability shoes too (oh an I wear a size 12 so your tiny size 11 does not impress me;)). Last time I went to Fleet Feet they put me in Nike Zoom Structure +15. I had been wearing and still wear a pair of Proguides but really liked the Nike's (and I saw on zappos awhile ago the cute pink colored ones were on sale,http://www.zappos.com/nike-zoom-structure-15-pink-flash-summit-white-cool-grey-black, not that it is about cuteness but kind of is).

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  3. I wear the Brooks Trance and Asics Kayanos, love them both although I am not convinced I need a stability shoe but I have been running in them for over a decade and if it ain't broke...

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  4. I do wear stability shoes.

    first I had Mizunos Nexus 4. did not like them.
    2nd Mizunons Wave Inspire 7. They are ok but bulky. I liked them but I did not love them.

    so I kepts looking
    I got Brooks Ravenna 2. : Love those. They are less bulky than the Mizunos and they have more cushion.

    Then I lost my mind and tried Brooks Pure Flow. HATE those.

    I got a pair of Brooks Ravenna 3. I LOVE LOVE those. I am not using those and my Ravenna 2. I will not change shoes again!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hey Sis,

    I'm a stability guy being 6'3 and a bit over 200 lbs. In addition I'm an over pronator when i run. Although I've never been to one of your fancy running stores to be fitted i've found 2 shoes i really like. I've also never had any running injuries (knock on wood), granted i don't put in the mileage you do. My shoes of choice are both adidas, because i'm an adidas snob and i like their products. The one i ran with a lot last year was the Adidas adiZero Tempo 4. My newest find is the adidas adiStar Salvation 3. Now i don't know if they make anything comparable in womens, but those are both stability shoes and they treat me real well. That's my input for the day, enjoy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Doesn't let me reply directly to your comment since you don't have a good profile brother ;)
      I've never worn adidas, come to think of it, not sure if my fleet feet carries adidas, but I will look into them. Thanks for the input.

      Delete
  6. I've never been in love... With my shoes :-(

    I've used both the Saucony Hurricane and the Brooks Adrenaline and I liked them, but that was several models back for both.

    Finding the right shoes is about as expensive and time consuming as finding the right guy! I know there are stores that allow you to test shoes for like 30-60 days but I always feel bad going back too many times to keep exchanging them.

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  7. I wonder what you would think of the new Guide 5s with the lower heel drop.

    I was in love with the purple Adrenalines. And then my hamstring went to shit a month after I started in them so I gave them away. LOL.

    I wish I could have a flashy shoe that made me feel magical. But no, clunky stability Trance 10s and Guide 4s. That's why I'm hitting the woods. At least I get to change the shoes up. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh man I feel your pain. I have similar shoe woes, I want to LOVE my shoes too and I don't. I wore those exact same guides for a whole, but now I'm in the mirage, and it's okay. I am probably in the wrong inserts too!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Ok, I'm an Asics girl but I bought Nike Free's and I like them because they make me concentrate on good running form. They have pretty much zero cushion and I'm ok with that but every once in awhile I did out the Asics with their super gel support and be lazy. Now, I've tried Mizuno's TWICE and both times I had to take them back to the store within 3 - 4 runs because they made my ass cheek hurt. I have no idea why but I'm talking ass pain! Soon as I put the Asics back on, it went away. hmmmm.

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  10. i’m in the brooks defyance. i believe they are not quite a full stability shoe and they aren’t a “normal” shoe either. they are the in between. been in them about a year i think and really like them.

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  11. My first-ever running shoes were Asics (from Famous Footwear or some generic shoe store), I loved the Gels because they FELT SO GOOD (all that cusioning? Heck yeah!) and then realized they were the wrong shoe when my feet started getting cramped and falling asleep. I went from a 10 to an 11.5 in the Mizuno Wave, but had to wear 2 pairs of socks. After that, I moved into the Saucony Rides. I am LOVING them but still feel like there MIGHT be something better? But I don't want to rock the boat! Don't fix what's not broken, right?

    ReplyDelete
  12. My first running shoe was the Sauconey Hurricane and I LOVED this shoe it's a stability shoe. I don't wear inserts and no running store ever suggested me to wear them. After the Hurricane, I wanted a better looking show and got the Mizuno and they didn't work for me at all. Went back to Sauconey and run in them ever since. Last year I switched from Hurricane to Pro Grid Guide 4 and just got a Guide 5. Not a 100% convinced with the Guide 5, but it's the prettiest one :)

    ReplyDelete
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