I Cheated.

My running shoe and I have quite a history.

 My boo.

ASICS Gel Nimbus

I've worn this model since I started training for my first marathon. Sure, I've been tempted by flashier colored models (seriously, the Nimbus is like the grandma walking shoe of running shoes. The colors are always awful, boring, puke-y colors. This pink, grey, and yellow version is as flashy as they get. Ugh). But, I've never had any problems with the Nimbus (other than it's $130 price tag), so I've stuck with them.

Until this latest pair. For whatever reason the Nimbus 13's were a nightmare to break in. I had really severe sharp pain in the ball of my right foot with every strike. This lasted for MILES. Even with 50+ miles on this pair, I was still having issues.

Meanwhile, I had just started wearing my new trail shoes which are Brooks brand and hot damn, did they feel good! Cushy, but not too soft. This was the first time I'd ever worn a non-ASICS shoe (my previous trail shoes were ASICS) and I was pretty smitten. I found myself lacing up my Nimbuses (is it Nimbi? Fuck, I don't know) for a road run, but fantasizing about putting another shoe on instead. Maybe a Brooks road shoe?

And then in a moment of weakness and lust, I bought the Nimbus equivalent in the Brooks brand. Their neutral, cushy Glycerin.

Apparently it's universal:

Cushy = Boring.

The day I got them, I immediately slipped them on and started walking around in them. They felt good! Firm, supportive cushioning and the sizing was good. I was excited to give them a try the next day. 

Out of the box, these shoes felt great. No breaking-in period, no sharp pains in the ball of my foot. Just good runs. When I went to log in my first run in these shoes, I named them Homewreckers. I felt pretty guilty about straying from the Nimbus. But, hell, this last pair wasn't doing me any favors. Running is hard enough without having your shoes feel like they're stabbing you with every foot strike. 

Intially, when I wore the Brooks multiple days in a row (I couldn't stop myself, they were so new and fresh and comfy) I noticed a little tweakiness in my left shin after my runs. But, I would just switch back to the Nimbus the next day and be fine. (My Nimbuses have finally been broken in, but I can assure you I will not be buying another pair of the 13 version. Heading straight to the pricey 14s).

I always thought I would be a one shoe woman. But, I gotta be honest. I kinda like the variety. I wear my Nimbuses when I run longer runs and I wear my Glycerins on shorter runs or speed workouts (they feel a bit lighter). For now, I'm going to continue the two brand switch-off. I'm not ready to make a commitment to one just yet. 

Do you switch around with different brands? Everyone that I know who runs in the Nimbus, seems to ONLY run in the Nimbus.

Bittersweet

The good news:

I got some new shoes! Check it:Mizuno Wave Inspire 4s. Say word, son! Now I've got 2 brand new pair of running kicks, which is awesome because now I can alternate. From what I've read, this is a good thing because it minimizes injury due to the fact that the shoes fit you differently. You aren't striking the ground at exactly the same angle, every step you take. Sounds good to me. The best thing about these shoes is that they cost exactly $1.80!!

I use a Cashback Discover Card and you can either get cash back (duh) or you can take it in gift cards from companies that partner with Discover. Most of these companies actually up the amount of your Discover cash. Foot Locker is one of these partners and they offer $25 for every $20 in Discover Bucks. A great way to get new shoes, isn't it? So I requested my cards:

I got them pretty quickly and went straight to footlocker.com to do a little shopping. With my gift cards and a promotional discount code that I found online, my total came to under two bucks. Very sweet.

Now for The Bad News: I ordered these shoes on 6/16/2008. I was placed on the backorder list 4 times and finally got them yesterday. Let's figure out how many days that is...That's 65 days, folks. I guess I wasn't a priority cause I got them so cheap. Here is what I have to say to Foot Locker:

I think you get the picture. Gonna try out the shoes tonight...hopefully they'll get a better review!

May I have your attention please?

...Ahem....I'd like to propose a toast. A toast of recognition and thanks to those who each did their part in aiding me on my painless five mile run this evening. PAINLESS! Yee Haw! Yes, I really just said Yee Haw(!) What? You know I'm from the South! Now excuse me while I refill my jar of moonshine and hang my overalls out to dry. Hardy Har Har.

ANYWAY, back to the toast. On this blog, I've expressed my concern (ok...whined and complained, but rightfully so) about the Mizunos I ordered from FootLocker.com AT THE BEGINNING OF JUNE. It is now early August, which means that my new kicks have been on backorder for 2 months. That is ridiculous. Can I get an AMEN? Puh-lease. So naturally, I blame my shin splints on FootLocker.com. I needed a replacement pair so very long ago. Well, tonight, while I was running a couple of errands, I decided to stop in the New Balance store and see what kind of deals they had. The gods must have been in my favor because, what do you know, this is what I saw:

Pink! In my size! On the clearance table! I snatched up these babies at $70 and after the inaugural run in my New Balance 1061s, I can confirm that it was a heck of a deal. They just felt so good. So thank you, new pretty pink New Balance 1061s. I'm looking forward to many comfortable miles together.

Next on the list-Tony and Rosemary's HealthRider SoftStrider R60. Oh baby, I love this treadmill. Trust me when I tell you that me loving a treadmill is very uncharacteristic of me. I've always hated treadmill running because it's boring and hot and the miles seem to drag by unbelievably slow. But maybe I'm starting to come around. Maybe I can have a positive and loving relationship with a treadmill. You see, tonight, I cruised along effortlessly on its soft, giving surface while enjoying the lovely breeze created by the built-in fans. And would you believe that I even had fun changing up the pace and incline? I love when quality workouts are fun. You made my day, HealthRider SoftStrider R60. They don't call you SoftStrider for nothin.

And last but not least, I want to send a shout-out to Music Choice Channel 672, and more specifically, King Arthur. Mix-Master KA did an excellent job of mixing it up with the best R&B and Hip-Hop hits of the decade. I knew you were the DJ for me when you put some Jay-Z and Outkast in there. Thanks for keeping it real. For real.

Ok, I lied. I said that King Arthur was last, but you know I gotta brag on myself when at all possible, right? Therefore, my final congratulations and words of appreciation will be to me, me and me. I'm positive that readers of this blog do everything right, all the time, but I've been known to slack when I can get away with it. That's why I'm so proud of my thorough warming up, stretching, cooling down after the run and stretching again. Oh, and I even did my shin strengthening exercises. Go Ape.

The only thing left to say is this: You'd better start running, evil shin splints, because I'm on to you and I've got friends in high places.

Shoe Dilemma

It's time for some new shoes. There are several ways to tell that you need new running shoes:

1. You've hit 500 miles

2. You can see that the tread is worn down on the soles

3. You are consistently feeling a little beat up after your runs (achy knees, ankles, etc...)

And my favorite...

4. You are tired of the pair you currently have and are a sucker for all the cool new shoes that keep coming out.

In my case, the mileage thing doesn't work right now because I ran for a couple of months without logging my runs. And the tread isn't worn down at all...and my knees ache after many of my runs (even in brand new shoes) as a result of, I believe, running sprints on a concrete track in high school and playing soccer for 9 years. I may be close to the max mileage, but since I can't be sure, I guess I'll just have to confess that my reason for needing (ok, wanting) new kicks is #4 on the list.

You know what? I'm even going to add a #5 here because I just thought of another great reason to buy new shoes...

5. You are beginning a new marathon training plan and need some additional excitement to get you pumped up and ready to go!!!

So I've really had my eye on these Pearl Izumi syncroFLOAT 2s:

My brother, Logan, has some Izumis and loves them. I've also done a little research online and that seems to be the general consensus-people love them. And I think they look cool...different from other running shoes. So what's the problem, you ask? Just buy them already, you say.

I use a Cashback Bonus Discover Card, which earns me money each time I use the card. I can either take the cash or use it at one of their sponsored stores or vendors. Most all of the stores will let you redeem the cash for more than it actually is. For example, $10 cash = $15 giftcard. The last couple of times I bought running shoes, I used the cashback bonus at FootLocker since they are a sponsored store. It was awesome...cause we all know running shoes ain't cheap.

Only my Pearl Izumis aren't sold at FootLocker. To add to the matter, I checked out slickdeals this morning and found a coupon code for an additional 25% off. And I did find a couple of pair that caught my eye at Foot Locker:I've worn Mizunos and had a blue toenail problem, but that was before I went to Fleet Feet and learned that I should be running in a whole size and a half larger than I had been! And I've never worn Nikes, but Amy loves hers so I'm up to trying those out as well. So basically, I could either wait on the Pearl Izumis and get a sweet deal on some Nikes or Mizunos or just suck it up and spend the cash on the Izumis.

Anybody got some input on any of these three?

Loving this weather!

Yesterday was a bad day for me. The work part of work was fine, but the studying part of work was really bumming me out. Failing practice test after practice test is not a good sign and can really start to make you feel like the dumbest person alive after awhile. So when 5 o'clock rolled around, I was more than ready to get out there and get a good, hard run in. I desperately needed to get all of the built up frustration out. I felt like I might have been on the verge of a mini breakdown.

When I got to Shelby Farms, the weather was just about perfect...sunny, but not miserably hot and humid like it has been all summer. I could just feel fall right around the corner. And fall is the best season to run (and just overall too)!

I wanted to mix it up a bit so I went straight to the trails. The trails there are tough at certain points, but very enjoyable. When you run trails, you have to be attentive so I figured that would help keep my mind off of my woes. It worked. I was sweating and huffing and in no time I could feel the stress slowly leave my body.

Greg's phone call during my run also helped to lift my spirits. He had some great news. The seller of the house we want to buy has decided to accept our offer! If the home inspection passes all the tests, then we will become proud new homeowners! Yay!

I got my new Saucony Grid Trigon 5's over the weekend and I wore them yesterday and this morning. They feel good except that the heels need to be worn in and stretched out. They were seriously rubbing my heels raw, even with band aids on them...

especially on my right foot....see...

That's hardcore, baby!

Look at how Banner was mesmerized by my new, shiny shoes!

$90 down the drain (at least they were tax free)

Well it turns out that I just can't wear Mizunos. They worked out for a few runs, but the past few days have been rough. My tallest/middle toe keeps getting jammed against the inside front of the shoe. Let me just say that it is not the best feeling in the world. After yesterday's run, I was walking on my heels out of the gym so that my toes wouldn't touch anywhere. They are so sore that not only can I not comfortably wear socks, but I couldn't even stand the sheets over my feet last night. The sheet weighed too much. Crazy, I know.

The Mizunos that I had before (which gave me blue toenails for at least a year) were a Christmas gift from my dad. They were a size 5. And you know, athletic shoes run small. I wear a 6 or 6.5 in regular, everyday shoes. Anyway, he got them on clearance even though they were a tad bit too small. (They were clearance! If you know my dad, you will understand).
But I know Mizuno makes good running shoes and I wanted to give them another chance. I'd been over to Fleet Feet and they said that I needed to be wearing a 7. I was surprised because I thought that would make it worse, with my feet sliding up and back. But those smart folks at FF knew what they were talking about. That day, I left the store with some Sauconys and they were awesome.

So back to the Mizunos...these are 7s. They hurt. They give me blue toenails. That's no good. I'm out $90. Boo.

I'm thinking it is because Sauconys have this really wide toebox, whereas the Mizunos are very narrow. I guess my toesies like to spread out and be free.