Friday, June 13, 2008

New shoes...have I been wearing the wrong type?

I've gone through four pairs of Asics 2110s and 2 pairs of 2120s in the past couple of years. I bought the first pair at the recommendation of a Running Room staff member. I had been wearing a cushioning shoe at the time, but I had some complaints about pain on the outsides of my feet. After watching me jog around the store, they told me that my feet collapse slightly inward, and therefore recommended a stability shoe. I've had issues over the past year with overly tight calves, pain around my baby toes. I tried a couple of other pairs of stability shoes: Brooks Adrenaline GTS 7 and New Balance 767. I thought they worked okay for me, but then I ended up with an IT band injury. This is not to say that I blame the shoes completely; I know that I am terrible about stretching, and that I may have overtrained, etc. However, I felt that it was time to seek some different advice about shoes.


I went to Running Free today to seek such advice. I explained to the woman working the shoe section that I wanted to try a new model due to my recent injuries. After watching me run, she told me that I run quite evenly, and that I probably just need a cushioning shoe. What?? Have I been wearing the wrong type of shoe for 2-3 years? So, I tried on several brands of cushioning shoes: Asics, Saucony, Adidas and Brooks. The winner: Asics Gel Cumulus 9. I'm going to try them out on my treadmill tomorrow. They felt great in the store, so I sure hope that they are the answer to my shoe woes!

I also bought a new water bottle...a hand-held type. I dislike wearing belts. Let's see if it's any better carrying the bottle in my hand. Next post will be about the different types of water belts and hydration packs that I have tried...stay tuned ;)

6 comments:

Cliff said...

Anners,

Good choice on the waterbottle. I have stayed away from fuel belt for a longest time.

I like a camel pack too. I am surprise at how 'comfort' it is lugging 500 ml of H20 on my back :)

Marci said...

I am glad I am not the only one that detests fuel belts. I had looked high and low for one I like, but they all feel uncomfortable. Looking forward to reading your reviews. I hope the new shoes work out. I bought my trail shoes at running free, and I love them. The staff seemed knowledgable.

Sonia said...

I have the same bottle but with a purple holder! I really like it (and should have brought it on my run today.... lol)

I also have issues with my shoes since I started running, even tough I'm paying big money now for my kayano 14 I still don'T know if it is the right shoe for me... anyway it does beat the 40$ Nike shoes I used to buy!!

Glad to see you're back on the road!!

Unknown said...

hey! I am happy that you stumbled across my blog. :)

The fun of finding 'the right shoe'... it never ends it seems sometimes. lol I was in the bit of the same situation as you and was told to go stability for a couple of years and then went somewhere else and was told I don't need that much. So much fun... but I guess the feet can change over time. :) Who knows.

Good luck with the hand held.

Maybe I'll see you in Regina here... ;)

Anonymous said...

Hey, I too detest wearing a fuel belt. I tried a camelback - too sloshy and sweaty! Good luck with the hand held. I tried running with my water bottle in one hand and it was weird - almost threw me off balance. Sierra said she would pace me on her electric scooter and then throw water bottles at me! Somehow I can't picture her getting up at 5:00am when I go for my runs.

G said...

That bottle says 'Ultimate' on it. It must be a sign - join us!