New Running Shoes
For the first time in probably 3 years I picked up a new pair of running shoes. To be fair I bought 2 sets of my last pair. Why? Here is that story.
Many years ago (ie back in the 90s) I would only run in Nike since we had a Nike outlet near us. The big problem with Nike was that they were made for narrow feet. So everytime, and I mean everytime, I ran on any type of surface I would roll on my ankle. One time I finally sprained it which kept me off of it for a week.
So I left the Nike camp and found the New Balance 803 (all terrain shoe). I was in love. This shoe was amazing - by far the best thing since sliced bread. I wore these shoes out (I know - I need to buy new running shoes long before I wear them out). So I went out to buy another pair, but New Balance had moved on to the 804. So I picked up a pair of 804s…NOT THE SAME! I was very disappointed. I even tried the 805s when they came out and again was very disappointed. I was frustrated that so much could change to the next model.
So I moved on. I found the ASICS Eagle Trail Running III and fell in love again. These were very similar (at least to me) to my old 803s. They had very good support, comfortable, and they didn’t feel too shallow. So I bought a second pair. I didn’t want to miss a good thing. I’ve would alternate between the two pairs for my running which actually worked out well.
Tonight I headed to Road Runner Sports in Kent. I tried the latest ASICs - they had two trail running pairs. They had the 2120 and the Trail Sensor. I found the 2120 to be the best fit of the two - very light and comfortable. I also tried on the latest Addidas - the salesperson was going to let me buy those - he could tell they didn’t fit right. He was right - I didn’t like them. I finally tried a pair of Brooks Adrenaline ASR 4. And a new friendship was born…these had that good ole feelin’. They fit my feet perfectly with no odd pressure points or strains.
I haven’t been posting my runs on the site but I’ve definitely picked things up since Nate was born. Although, before Nate arrived I was spending much of my extra time getting things ready for Nate so I only got 2 runs in per week at about 2 to 2.5 miles with some hills. Now I’ve been doing my 3.6+ mile run (with a 500 ft elev loss and gain) 3 to 4 times per week. I hope to keep this going - it’s easy to do this in the summer here since it stays light late…I’m able to go running at 8:30pm like I did last night. Just need to make sure I eat a small dinner (something I didn’t do tonight).
If these shoes work out I’ll go ahead and pick up a second pair…no use stressin over whether this same pair will be around in 6 months to a year. I also need to find some local fun runs - I enjoyed the times I did the bay to breakers so I need to find one or two up here to finish off the summer. I’ll let you know what I find.
One more thing - I took Zach with me to the running store. He was either running everywhere or playing with the giant exercise ball (the kind you lay on to stretch your back) - he loved that thing. Anyway, the salesperson commented that he would be a runner…I told him he was practicing to be Forrest Gump.