April 1st, 2008
Impatient as I am, within two hours of my blog whine about treadmills and gait analysis, it had morphed into simply “I want new shoes”. So I drove out to Bryn Mawr Running Co. because they’re a reputable shop with good people working there. I figured I could just try some on, didn’t have to buy anything. (yeah, right)
I brought my 400-mile 2120s so they could check out the wear pattern and I explained the whole feeling-my-arch-and-long-runs thing. She confirmed that I’m in the right type of shoes, and looking at the sole she said I’m a light runner since there isn’t much wear and that I don’t have any weirdness going on, since the wear pattern was smack down the center. She also said I will live a long prosperous life and that I was a cow in my former one. She didn’t really, but it would have been great if she did.
Out came the shoe boxes and after much worry (switching running shoes freaks me out) I narrow it down to Adrenaline 8s, which strangely enough, I need a wide width in, even though I have some Adrenaline 7s that are regular width and my Asics have always been regulars, too. Vanity aside, I tried to resist treating it like buying pants, where a bigger size makes you feel like you have a honking big butt. I bought ‘em.
I also tried on some Mizuno Wave Inspire 4s, and they felt great too – and since I’m ready to put all my Asics to rest (or only use for shorter runs), when I got home I ordered them from runningwarehouse.com for $20 less than the store. Hey, I did my “support your store” bit by buying one pair at full price…it ain’t gonna happen for two.
I really hope one of these shoes works as my favorite shoe, even though I think both are super ugly with their disco metallic trim and I will forever miss my black Asics and be pissed off at Brooks for offering black to the guys but not the girls – but such are the sacrifices of a runner.
To close, I took the new sneaks out for a tempo this morning and loved them! Very comfortable. Wish I could say the same about the tempo, but the rain and wind made it uncomfortably “comfortably hard”.
And my latest lesson learned is: glasses with clear lenses are in theory great for rainy days…as long as you’re going in one direction. Turn around and the whole theory goes to shit.
So much for clever ideas. 
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Flo,
I am surprized that you are wearing the “high heels”. Does the running type we discussed advocate the even ratio heel/toe like the POSE does? I went for a short jog to the bank earlier trying to emulate the videos, this is gonna take awhile, especially with the wrong shoes. I am wearing the A7′s, btw. They have served me well, almost 600 miles on the first pair, about 300 on the next so far.
T
I’m afraid to wear something so “nekkid” so I stick with regular shoes. Yes, it’s the same story about the low heel, but even with the shoes I use, I’m able to run midfoot so it works, just less “sensing the road”, I guess. Get some and let me know how it goes. One of the pairs seemed lower, btw, which was a consideration. I think it’s the Mizuno’s…I’ll know when UPS comes tomorrow.
You gotta get someone to take a video of you doing Pose so you can get an evaluation. That seems to be the thing on their forum.
Wow, you’ve gotten lots of mileage on the 7s, I read a lot of folks saying they’re done at 250-300. Mine have 318 miles on them, but I don’t run in them much so I don’t have a clue if they’re done for yet. I just got bored with them
Dang nabbit. Now I want new shoes. I will be lost if they ever do away with Mizuno WaveRiders. I dont care for asics shoes either, but love my asics shorts.
Congrats Bruce, on having a model/make that work perfectly for you! I hope to love at least one pair of my new shoes as rabidly as you do yours.
Ive become a Nike and Brooks guy myself. I really liked my Brooks Glycerin’s but now im seriously in love with my Nike Vomero 2s ( they are supposedly for heavier runners but I like the extra cushioning in the forefoot so it is what it is)
Ive went through alot of differnt sneaks before finding good ones for my high arches and tiny but somewhat wide feet.
Im thinking of putting on some super lightweight trainers for the 1 mile race. They arent racing flats but they are only like 9 ounces so they are pretty darn close. They KILLED my feet in a 5k but I think I can deal with them for a mile. they are too narrow for my feet but im stuck with them with hardly any miles on them so I might as well use them a little bit.
Definitely use whatever means you have, Matt!! Been reading about lightweight shoes and it’s tempting, makes you wonder how much of an edge it gives you, enough people seem to think it does.
You know, George swears by his racing flats, and I always trust his testimonials. Was thinking it was overkill at this point for me to get some, but since he’s pro-flats, I’m thinking about it. And you sir, are officially speedy, so get some flats! Sell your other ones on Ebay or something.