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)

Fitness Friday- Shoe rotation

Rotating you shoes during training??!?! 

I've been told its beneficial if you do an evening run followed by a morning run, or 2 runs in 1 day due to the foam in your shoe not having enough time to bounce back to absorb all the shock. HOWEVER, if you have more than 24 hours between runs, that its not necessary. Some people like to have a few shoes so their foot can learn to adapt to different designs as well (or some I'm told)

What are your thoughts?!?!

I have 3 pairs of shoes:

      

 1.Saucony Progrid Guide 4

I've had these since March, however due to poor training on my part, they only have 250 miles on them. They're a stability shoe and until recently I did everything but speedwork in them. Lately I've been noticing they were a little heavier than I would have liked, so I went to Fleet Feet and asked if they had a lighter stability shoe which brings me to. 

2. Saucony Pro Grid Mirage

I've only ran about 5 runs in these. Although its offers some stability with the lightweight feel of a minimalist shoe, my knee has been bothering me (coincidence??) so I haven't done longer than a 5.5 mile run in them- tomorrow morning will be the test. If they work out, I'm looking forward to racing in them, if not, I can always go back to the trusty Guide 4,5,6,7 etc 

3. Newton Gravity

Got these for Christmas, but since it forces you to midstrike, I can't run over 6-7 miles in them without my calves hating me the next day. I save these shoes for speedwork or a quick 3-4 miles. These are perfect for when the weather cools down and I can go on a 3 miler during my lunch break. I'm amazed at how much faster I am in them. I'll be sad when they wear down, because @ $175 a pop, I will not be buying these again. 

So coming full circle: Even though I have 3 pairs of shoes, none of them are rotation shoes... yet. I love how I can trust my guides, I just wish they were lighter. I Love love love how lightweight the mirages are, but since they are for slight pronators, I'm scared they don't offer enough support and I'll revisit ITBS all over again. This brings me to my ultimate question I'm curious from you all:

If you do rotate shoes, do you buy 2 of the same pair to keep it consistent, or do you just buy two different shoes but with the same structure, i.e. in my case, stability shoes?!?!




New to Fitness Friday?!?!?
Link up from Jill @ Life.... As I see it

3 weeks of pampering!

I wish I could say that pampering meant being on a beach, sipping on frozen drinks and great beer, while having Hans give me a deep tissue full body massage... but alas no. Pampering in this text refers to me being good to my body, really working on the next 3 weeks (that is how long I have until my next race) to rest, stretch, cross train, and get stronger.

First up-keeping true to my 2011 workout goals, I FINALLY tried yoga for the first time today. Both B and I had the day off, so we met at the Y for a flow yoga class- I'm told this a great version of yoga to try for beginners like myself.
Thankfully the teacher recognized that we were new faces and I told her this was my first time with yoga EVER, so that was kind of a heads up to what i was sure was going to be a great embarassment to myself.

I think I did better than I expected, however I am way more inflexible than I previously thought, so this is going to take some time for me to get near everyone else's flexibility. It amazes me how someone can go from the downward dog position, and then from there completely move one leg to the front of the mat in one single swoop- I had to readjust every time and take 3 steps or so (I'll eventually get there). I know the class is supposed to be relaxing, but I was so busy looking around or up at the teacher to figure out what the proper technique was supposed to look like, that my mind couldn't just 'let go.' I guess I should have done a bit of preparation and looked up what basic poses were so I would have some knowledge prior to this morning.

After the class was over I went into the cardio part of the Y and foam rolled my IT Band, quads (major ouch there) and my calves. I was surprised at how much easier it is to roll (another first for me this morning) than to really dig in deep with the stick, I was also surprised at how in addition to flexibility, I need to work on coordination- kept getting off balance with my body weight on the roller.

Lastly finished up the gym by some good quality stretching in the hot tub; I do have a slight  dependency to the hot tub- when looking for hotels for races, a hot tub is one of the first features we check!

After showering I head over to our Fleet Feet to get some advice on if my shoes are truly the best for my form. Although I did buy them there earlier in the fall, I just feel that they aren't the best that I need for the way I strike, especially with all these injuries popping up. Since October I have been running in Saucony Ride 3s- they aren't bad, at first my feet would go numb after 10 miles or so, but now they are adjusted. I go over what I'm looking for, whats going on with my running, etc. After he watches me run, he admits that he doesn't know how to best help me, and gets the store owner.

He comes over to me, has me put shorts on and then whips out his flip camera and videos me bending down in a squat position both with my feet together, and shoulder width apart. Just from doing that he saw how greatly I overpronate- my knees completely buckle inward (thus all my knee pain). He explained that because I have strong hip flexors and quads, they take a blunt of the force, but due to increase in mileage, knees are finally starting to be affected. He tells me that many runners have really weak glutes, more specifically the glute medius, because it isn't really used while running, unless you cross train (which i don't) then you have to make a large effort to work this muscle.
He shows me how to do a clam:

which by the way looks easy enough, but 20 of those, and I was SORE- if you don't feel it after 5, then you're using too much of your hip, really have to focus on just using the glutes.
Anyway, once my glute medius becomes stronger, it will take all that pressure off my hip flexors, which will then stop the pulling on both my IT Band and sartorius- i.e. KNEE PAIN BE GONE!!!
I think its great that in one visit, which was free, I found the exact root of my problem. Everything that was told to me previously was all accurate, but its nice to finally pin point what started the chain effect.

Afterward I pick out my new shoe Saucony Progrid Guide 4, a stability shoe vs. the neutral one I had, decide to get a trigger point roller, and PROMISED them that I would actually use my shoe inserts that I bought back in May (I know I know, I'm a horrible runner)

So despite my excitement to use my new shoes and barely worn inserts, I'm not going to be bulking up the miles anytime soon. This week I'm traveling for work, so during travel I'll just rest and then maybe on thursday or friday go to the gym for some weightlifting and perhaps cycling / elliptical, of course followed by the hot tub!

What do you do for cross training that isn't boring?!!?

How do you keep things engaging while you're not able to run as much as you'd like?