Gear! Where the Rubber Meets the Road

I've been long overdue for new shoes, and finally decided to go get a pair.  It's a good idea to go to a dedicated running store as the employees there always seem much more knowledgeable than the general sports stores, such as Big 5 or Sports Authority.

The employee who helped me used to run marathons fairly regularly and claimed to do upwards of one hundred miles a week.  A thin, wiry man, it seemed completely plausible and he definitely knew what he was talking about.  As it turns out, my shoes were probably too small, causing my toes to rub the front end of my shoe, which may have been the cause of my knee pains on longer runs.

Beyond that, shoes, I am told, should be replaced very three to four months, as the soles wear down and the shoes generally lose a lot of their support when the materials start getting soft.  Of course, that might advice from someone just trying to make a sale.  So I looked it up - and the advice ranges. However, all of the articles seem to agree on two things: when to replace a show (1) depending on a number of factors including running style and weight, and (2) ask five different people and you'll get five different responses.  One article stated 400-600 miles on a shoe, another put it at 300-500 miles.

Both articles say "listen to your body."  My knee pains should have been an indicator that new shoes were in order. 

brightly colored cartoon shoes

I've had these shoes for approximately a month now, and the knee pain has disappeared.  My toes aren't rubbing anymore, so no skin blisters.  All this from new shoes and going a half size up.  The new shoes are Brooks PureCadence, dark gray with lime green highlights.  I think a lot of the new shoes with multiple highlighter colors makes the running shoes look like they belong on a cartoon.  These are nice and subdued looking but with highlights for visibility, which I like.

Cartoon shoes do look nice though, but I feel like they draw a good bit of attention, and since I'm not a super fast runner, I'm not so sure I want to be drawing that much attention to myself while running!

Back to the new shoes.  They are fairly lightweight and in the totem pole of Brooks shoes, are on the lower end of support/weight.  I have tried their lightest shoes, partly because minimalist/barefoot running is so in vogue right now and I wanted to try it for myself, but never got used to it and don't think I'll be getting into that.  The first time I tried them on, I also tried on a pair of Asics.  The Asics felt like a normal shoe, whereas the Brooks felt like it was a cocoon for my foot.  I was sold.  Now that I've put in a good number of miles in them, they're broken in and feel great.  The lightness helps with cadence but still the shoe offers enough support for my feet so there are no random aches and pains.