If there is anything that makes the biggest difference running, it’s your shoes. It’s really the only thing you need to invest in if you are thinking of running. A good pair of running shoes is critical. I used to run in a pair of regular cross training shoes, which used to make my shins hurt and I would be unable to continue running for more than 5-10 minutes sometimes. I found out that my foot overpronates, which is apparently common among most runners. It’s this that led to the pain over time for me. Running shoes with stability support tries to correct this by making your foot be more neutral, so that this doesn’t become an issue. My first pair of shoes dedicated solely for running, the Nike LunarGlide+ 2, was like a charm for my legs. It was relatively light, soft cushioning for my heels and most importantly, got me running much further with not as much discomfort as running in cross training shoes.
My beloved first running shoe… Nike LunarGlide+ 2
I logged just over 600+ miles or so in the 2 years that I ran in my LG2. At the first half marathon I ran in at the 2012 AllState 13.1 Atlanta, Give Your Sole had a booth where you could donate your shoes which went to benefit The Gateway Center. So in a ceremonial thing of sorts for me personally at having completed my first half marathon, I donated my worn shoes in exchange for a pair of flip flops, so that at least I could get home.
Donated my LunarGlide+ 2 after 13.1 Atlanta
I had such a great experience with it that I decided to continue using the same line and got the LunarGlide+ 4 for the next half marathon I was going to run, which was the 2013 Publix Georgia Half Marathon, and what was supposed to be my first foray into triathlon, which was the 2013 TriPATHlon (which ended up calling off the bike portion due to water on the course from heavy rain the previous day), I’ve logged close to 500 mi on my current pair of running shoes and am ready to ‘retire’ this shoe from running and use it for regular activities.
LunarGlide+4. I thought I got it in Georgia Tech colors, turns out it was their LIVESTRONG model.
I went a bit crazy hunting for new shoes in anticipation for training for the next challenge and beyond, which is the 2013 Chicago Marathon in Oct 13. It’s generally said that a pair of running shoes will last between 300-500 miles, depending on how you run. For example, the more weight you put in your heel, the more it wears the bottom out, but since some shoes have a really thick sole at the heels, that might get you through 500+ miles or so, while on others, it might not be so. I’ve read in some forums that Nikes tend to wear out faster. I didn’t think so with the LG2, but I think I might have noticed some difference after the 300 mile mark with the current pair of LG4.
February and March is like the season for new running shoe models. This is when you’ll likely see many articles on the best running shoes for the year and such. For the budget conscious, this can be a bit daunting, as many new running shoes tend to start at around $90 and the mid range ones can be around $150 (such as the new Adidas Energy Boost). I can certainly understand that dropping that kind of money on shoes that you can only use for running can be concerning. There are alternatives, however, that won’t require you to use cheaper cross training shoes and suffer the same fate as I did. The key is to wait until the new shoes come out, which usually means the older and outdated models go on sale. You may be able to find them at regular sports stores like Dick’s Sporting Goods or Sports Authority, or if you have tried them out and know what size is good, you can go to online stores such as RunningWarehouse.com and other shopping portals and get them for a really good price. I’m not trying to say take your money from your local running stores, since they are very nice and can provide you personal recommendations which are worth it, but if you’re going to buy a number of them as I will soon discuss, you may need to conduct your own cost-benefit analysis.
I was looking at dropping another $100 or so on a pair of Nike Air Pegasus+ 29 or the Mizuno Wave Rider 16, but once I had seen that I could get Saucony ProGride Guide 5 and New Balance 890v2 for about $45 instead, I pounced on them. If I can get 2 shoes for the same price I was willing to pay for a single pair, why not? Of course, this can be tricky, you should definitely try out the shoes at a store before you try to get them, as each version can differ slightly (I see many reviews commenting how different brands can differ by half a size for so), so be careful. Anyway, as I said, I went a bit crazy on this, my local running store, Big Peach Running Company, has a branch over in Brookhaven that was closing to a new store and was having a clearance sale, so I went to check it out and got 2 more (Brooks Adrenaline GTS 12 and Mizuno Wave Inspire 8) for $60 each! Nike’s Outlet Store in Dawsonville was having a sale of sorts, and I got the pair of Air Pegasus+ 29 I originally was looking at for $45 as well (though getting it in bland colors I don’t care for, but hey, for that price…)
Brooks Adrenaline GTS 12 and Mizuno Wave Inspire 8 for $120? Yes please!
In any case, I’ve got a choice of 4 running shoes (I got the NB890v2 to replace a worn out cross training/regular shoe since it’s a neutral shoe and I need a bit of support for my mild overpronation) for the 2 upcoming marathons over the next 10 months. I figure I could rotate between 2 shoes between the shorter runs and the other more geared towards the slow longer runs so that I can somewhat even out the wear, so that I’m not hitting close to the 500 mile mark as get closer to the marathon. I certainly wouldn’t want to be finishing the last few miles of the marathon with a shoe that’s close to worn out and may be failing, would I?
So here’s the dilemma. Runner’s World has a few neat tools to help find your shoe according to your attributes, or find shoes that are similar to ones you’ve run in before. By my attributes, it seems I should be running in the Mizuno Wave Inspire 8, but by going with shoes that are similar to my LG2 and LG4, it seems I should use either Mizuno Wave Inspire 8 or Air Pegasus+ 29. By that, it seems at least one of the 2 choices is clearly involving the Mizuno Wave Inspire 8, right? I ended up getting the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 12 at the running store clearance since I was trying a bunch of shoes in my size and they actually felt fairly comfortable during a light jog in the store. Since it was 50% off, I ended up getting it. While when I went to my local running stores, be it Big Peach or Phidippides, it seems the recommendation came down to Saucony ProGrid Guide 6 (ended up getting the 5 on sale online) and Nike Air Pegasus+ 29 (the other recommendation was Asics GT-1000 which I didn’t end up buying due to my size not being available). So by that, it seems I should go with the Air Pegasus+ 29 and Wave Inspire 8.
Nike Air Pegasus+ 29 in ‘team’ colors. What ‘team’ I wonder. Duke? Kentucky?
While looking up the profiles, it seems while both are good for long distance runs, the AP29 might not be good for the shorter tempo runs that I’ll inevitably end up doing. In that case, it seems logical that I use the WI8 for my shorter mid week runs and rely on my AP29 for the longer weekend runs. So that’s that then. Those are my 2 shoes going forward for Chicago, and I’ll try to think about how I can rotate the Brooks and Saucony for the Georgia marathon next year since the course is much hillier.
I’ll wear my good old LG4 til the first day of marathon training on June 10, and then I’ll ‘retire’ that shoe and start switching between the WI8 and AP29 and see how it goes.
I have also dabbled a bit in minimalist/barefoot running shoes with the Vibram FiveFingers Bikila LS for a bit, after reading about it in Christopher McDougall’s bestseller ‘Born to Run’ (a fun read if you haven’t tried), which changed the way I run. I used to be a heel striker, in that I used to land on my heels a lot, which I’ve found out isn’t good for you, and using those shoes, I’ve become more of a midfoot striker, at times forefoot. I’ll caution though, you can’t just wear them and get going right away, you’ll need to slowly try a bit further every time, as learning how to change the way you run takes a bit of time. You can easily injure yourself if you don’t do it carefully and as a result, barefoot running isn’t for everyone. I took about 10 weeks or so to slowly get myself used to running in these shoes and still have some soreness in my calves when I run in them after a long time. I used it when I was working out indoors as it gives me a really good grip when doing strength training and other activities. I still think it’s a good alternative to have every now and then for running as well. I might use it once a week for some of the shorter runs to strengthen my calves.
What Walid Talks About When He Talks About Running 