Shoe Perfection

After 174  miles I had to say goodbye to my first real pair of running shoes. Generally speaking, I let them go a little early but I could tell it was time. Here's what clued me in:

                  1) One of my toenails bruised and got blood under it...just waiting for that sucker to fall                   off now :)
                 
                 2) I felt like I had zero support underneath my foot. It felt like all the cushion had been                  squeezed

                 3) My feet started to go numb during my longer runs. It was making me panic a bit                  thinking that I just wasn't built to do 13.1.

                 4) I began developing a lengthening list of semi-injuries, ankle pain, knee pain, the toenail,                  IT band pain, and although these things do accompany longer distances I really felt like                    something was off

With all that said my sweet hubs took me to a running store Saturday and let me talk to someone. It took the guy 3 seconds to look at my shoe and tell me it was too small. Opps. I went up an entire shoe size just like that. Luckily the shoe was still the correct fit for my stride which was something I had worried about. I do think that I killed my first shoes so fast from a few different factors. I was heavier when I started by 10 lbs which doesn't seem like a whole lot but I felt like it made a difference. I know my stride has changed drastically from when I first started really running. I finally feel like I have a good rhythm to my runs which is nice compared to before when I felt like I was all over the place.

The extra size feels awesome. My foot finally has some breathing room in the shoe and can shift down when I land which it didn't have room to do before (hence the blackened toenail). The sales guy explained how running shoes aren't meant to be like street shoes that should be laced tightly (guilty) and that you should tie them comfortably. I ran 5 miles yesterday and they felt like I was on a cloud. I had so much spring to my gait.

Here's a picture of the new shoes. I'm a believer of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it", so I didn't. My other shoes were Brooks Ghost 5's and my new ones are Brooks Ghost 6. Basically the same shoe, minor differences that aren't really noticeable to me but I was told all about them. Cool thing about most running stores is that you can return them even after running outdoors. Inside Out Sports in Cary has a 14 day return policy for running outside and a 90 day for inside which is awesome. I don't foresee returning these though because they're awesome.

 

3 more Sundays until 13,1!!!