Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Shoe Saga

To call my shoe troubles a saga is a bit dramatic which I tend to be according to my husband.  After Theodore was born and I started running again I began wearing the minimalist Saucony Kinvara 2 shoe.  I really loved the feel on my foot and felt that the shoe and the Good Form Running seminar at my local New Balance Store helped me modify my stride and decreased my injuries.  In previous years I had been prone to knee pain and plantar fasciitis.  There were times it was painful enough I didn't ever want to run again, especially the plantar fasciitis early in the morning. OUCH!  The new to me mid foot strike seemed to eliminate the problems and I ran pain free/injury free from November 2011 - August 2012.   That is when everything seemed to go down hill and I am not sure if it was the new shoes (Saucony Kinvara 3 which was significantly different in my opinion then the 2's) or the Funniest Home Video worthy spill I took on one of my first runs in the new shoes that resulted in scrapes, sprained ankle and a bruised ego.  The weeks that followed that spill were filled with excruciating hip pain.  Eventually I figured out that certain stretches and yoga poses helped decrease the hip pain but that did not solve the problem.  It was not until I was cleaning off the bottom of my running shoes recently I noticed a significantly different wear pattern on the bottom of my shoes.  It was my left hip giving me the trouble and by looking at the left and right shoe side by side I notice a difference.  Up until this time my previous shoes had always worn pretty similar.

Saucony Kinvara 3 - Approx. milage: 230
Off to Hanson's Running Shop I went and just started trying on shoes until I found ones that fit the most like the Kinvara 2's.  I preferred the extra cushion and the snug feel of that shoe.  I also knew I wanted a 3-4mm heel-toe drop because that was now what I was used to.  I have never worn Brooks shoes before but was pleasantly surprised with the fit and comfort of their new Pure Project PureFlow shoes.  After taking them for a spin on the treadmill in the store I decided to take them home with me.
So far it has only been 18 miles so to soon to tell if new shoes will help but I am sure hoping!

"New" Brooks PureFlow (18 miles so far)
Runners do you always by the same make/model of a shoe? Are you brand loyal or willing to try others to get the perfect fit? 

2 comments:

  1. I will wear any type of shoe, but I keep coming back to the sauconys. I'm on my 3rd shoe this month and still debating weather or not it is the right shoe. It feels different when I wear them on the road compared to the store. New balance to Brooks to Saucony. sigh...

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    1. Sigh....it is so difficult to find the right shoe, then it seems once you do the model changes and it's not perfect anymore...good luck in your search! I will probably still pick up a pair of the Saucony Kinvara Trails for off road running...

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