26.2 Quest: new shoes

Showing posts with label new shoes. Show all posts

Run for your life

This past Wednesday morning was like any other morning. I was running up and down the same roads I have run hundreds of times in the past. It was about 5:50 when I was coming around the same corner I have come around many times before. The road was dark and I was wearing my reflective vest and flashing red light for visibility. This morning was going to be a little bit different, and serves as a reminder why we run into traffic and not with it.

It was nearly two months ago when Pearl Izumi contacted me and wanted me to review a pair of the SyncroFuel XC's. At first I was a bit apprehensive because I have tried Pearl Izumi one other time about a year ago and didn't get past 7 total miles in the shoes before retiring them to the closet. It turns out the reason I didn't get past 7 miles was because the shoes were too narrow and just plain hurt, not an indication on how good the shoes were.

I received the shoe and was anxious to give it a go. This shoe is more of a neutral shoe than I have ever run in so I was cautious as I first laced them up. When I received the shoes I had never ran off-road or on trails and this shoe is designed for trail runners. I planned on taking it on the road first to see how it compared to what I was running in and then taking it to the trails to give that a go as well.

One Of My Best Miles Ever

I have run the past six days and was thinking about taking today off. I have been feeling really good lately and the running has been almost completely positive. Since I ran 6 miles yesterday morning before work, I decided that if I did run today I would only do a couple miles.

I woke up at 4:55 this morning (yea, I slept in for an extra 10 minutes!) and rolled out of bed. I took my time getting ready and prepared because I would only need < 20 minutes to run since I was only going 2 miles. During this time I tried talking myself out of running telling myself it was only 2 miles and why bother..... but I knew better.... it was 2 miles and I did need to bother because 2 miles is 2 miles, and I need to be happy that I can call it "only 2 miles" since the majority of people cannot run even 1 mile. I did end up running.

This is one of the down sides to not having a goal or a specific race that I am training for. Yes, I have some races on the horizon but nothing like a marathon or half marathon that actually has me on a training plan. I do not have a training plan that I am following right now and sometimes it can be difficult to stay focused.

Some New Equipment

It is time once again for some new equipment. As a runner I have to say I love new equipment. I have been putting off for too long replacing my shoes and once again I found myself nearing the 500 mile mark and starting to feel the strange pains brought on by very tired shoes.

I knew it was time for new shoes, but also knew that both of my daughters were in need of new shoes and I just couldn't bring myself to buy myself a new pair before I first took care of them. (I have so much to say about my two daughters and track, but I have to save that for another long overdue post) We finally took care of their needs and so I started looking frantically for my next pair of shoes. My shoes have been discontinued by New Balance, but I am really happy so I really wanted to stick with the same pair if I could. Everyone was sold out, but I luckily found my model in my size on clearance at New Balance Web Express. The next time I am in the market I will need to change shoes..... oh the horror!

I went out today with my oldest daughter Ashlee in my new shoes..... oh how nice to run in new shoes :) I also took my new watch for one last test drive before telling you about it.

The Last 20 Miles..... for these old shoes

This past Sunday was the last 20 miles that my shoes will see. It was time to retire those old shoes as they had nearly 500 miles on them. It seemed like I went through this pair faster than any previous pair...... notice I didn't say I ran any faster in them..... just that I went through them faster. I guess that is what marathon training does to a pair of shoes.

My new shoes, which I purchased from Gerald AKA RaceSpeed over at www.telarun.com showed up at my doorstep on Saturday with the new pair that I ordered for my daughter who also was in need of a new pair. We both stayed with the same model that we currently ran in, the New Balance 769's. Mine are identical to my last pair, while my daughters are the next 1/2 size up. This is my forth pair of New Balance, all within this same model line. 767, 768, 769, 769...... will I ever try another brand or model..... Who knows!

We were both starting to feel that it was time to change them out. I was starting to get some ankle pain as well as other misc soreness like in my hips and muscles. This is the same trouble I have started to have each time my shoes were due to be replaced. My daughter was starting to feel pain in her right arch, which we were not sure was caused by the shoes, but it was time for replacement anyway.

I decided to hold off and run in my old shoes for my 20 miler on Sunday - not a good run to break in some new shoes. Monday I ran in the new shoes, but without putting my inserts in. I wanted to see the difference. My feet and legs hurt some the rest of the day so Tuesday I went ahead and put in the inserts which felt much better. This week has been a step back week for me in my marathon training schedule so it was a great week to introduce some new shoes.

My daughter spent this past weekend in Richmond. VA running the Freshman race at the U.S. Army X-Country Festival at Maymont, one of the premier running festivals in the country. This worked out pretty good as well because Monday she was ready to go with some new shoes. We also are trying her new shoes out without the inserts to see how they feel. She has run the entire week so far without the inserts and they are still feeling good. We will probably for-go the inserts unless at a later time we feel she needs them again. Her arch does seem to be feeling a bit better, but that could also be related to her coach intentionally lowering her miles this week.

A friend of mine mentioned that I was probably due for an oil change when he saw how many miles I had been running. To a runner new shoes = oil change.

Looking forward to my Half Marathon this Sunday - it is a race, but also just part of my Marathon Training..... I will be blogging about it soon!

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com - subscribe - follow - virtual4now

Extremely good run with my daughter.... and new shoes!

I just got back from an extremely good run.... with my daughter.

I am not sure where to start. My daughter has been running off and on for a while, but finally got serious just about a month ago as she was leading up to Cross Country training starting. She is going to be a Freshman and will be running Cross Country her first year. When she first got serious about running she almost cried when we went 2 miles because she had never been that far before.

When she ran with me before she was always right around the 9:30 mark for the mile, and that is about what she started with at the two mile distance as well. We have since built to 4 mile runs and she is doing those pretty easily with the team and her coaches now, although in my opinion she is not running them as fast as she should or could :)

Her fastest two mile run (without me trying to kill her) was a couple weeks ago when she ran one of the miles in 8:19. I was so very proud of her to say the least. Her best two mile run was at a 8:33 pace. Both of those runs she was completely spent at the end.

Well, today brings a new smile to my face. She did not run with her team today so when I got home we went for a two mile run. It was just starting to sprinkle a bit when we walked out the door, but we hit the road anyway. We took off at an easy but brisk pace. She was doing really good, but she did comment it was faster than she runs with the rest of the team. By the time we hit the first mile it was raining pretty good on us, but we still hit that first mile in 8:31. We made the turn and kept on moving. The rain kept up and we sped up. I tried to speed up a little, but keep it where I could see she was managing it well. Well, the punch line to this story is....... she finished that second mile in 7:45!!!!! That is right, 7:45!!! I told her we would stop at two miles no questions asked so that is what we did. She was acting as if she could keep going, it was easy to tell she had been putting the miles in. I then talked her in to running easy to get home since it was another .4 miles and it still was raining quite good. The last .4 slowed the pace for the overall run, but the overall pace still turned out to be 8:15! I am so very proud of her. Here is the log from this run >> link

Now..... on to the shoes

I just got my new shoes in today. A big thank you goes out to one of my new Twitter Buddies @RaceSpeed who runs the online store www.telarun.com and who helped me by answering many questions about shoes and suggested I buy the shoes I ultimatly bought from him.

I wanted to replace my shoes with the same New Balance MR768ST shoes since I really liked them and they were exactly what I needed. I ended up finding out that they were discontinued and no matter where I looked I could not find my size in the shoe I currently ran in. The shoes were replaced by the New Balance MR769SB, but I was nervous that they would be enough different and would cause me problems.

The shoes I bought were in fact the New Balance MR769SB, and they came in the mail today. This same run became my trial run with my new shoes. If all is based on the first run, I am sold! I forgot what it was like to have the feet and legs feel so good. I guess that is because I had way too many miles on my old shoes (don't ask how many)

Bottom line, the day started out horrible, but it ended on running cloud 9!

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com - subscribe - follow

Need..... New..... Shoes.....

I am way beyond needing new shoes. I am going to save myself the ridicule by not telling you all how many miles I have on my current shoes but let's suffice it to say that I am way beyond the suggested mileage..... way beyond! There are ways for you to find out online but I refuse to point it out.

I have known that I have needed to replace these shoes for some time, but was putting it off while I took care of some other things financially. I was given a gift card for Fleet Feet, where I bought my first two pair, that would have purchased my next pair but I chose instead to use that gift card to take my daughter to buy her first pair of real running shoes.

I had found a place online that I could buy the shoes I currently run in for just $70, but was still putting it off till I could come up with the extra money. (yes, I am aware, putting it off could cost me more in the long run) I really like the shoes I am currently running in. They are the New Balance MR768ST's.

It has finally started to become critical. I am starting to have strange issues very similar to the last time I needed to replace my shoes. I am having issues with my ankles, my hips, and other very strange aches and pains.

I finally decided it was time and I was going to make the purchase. I went back to the site that had my shoes and would you guess..... they no longer had my size and it looked like they were being phased out. I did all kinds of searches and came up empty everywhere I looked. Many websites had the shoes but nobody had my specific size and width. I was getting discouraged.... I really didn't want to switch shoes.... yet.

This morning I was happy, but somewhat cautiously optimistic when I went back to all the sites I went to Thursday and checked again..... only to find one website said "hurry, only 1 left" when I entered my size and width. I was also pleased to see that it was the store that had it cheaper than most other stores..... and they were having free shipping this weekend. I checked, and double checked to make sure I entered everything correctly and made the purchase. The final price being only $63 with tax. I will be happy when they arrive.

The store that came through for me? Joes New Balance Outlet

What did I learn? Don't put off buying shoes this long next time.

I did a little more research and found that New Balance has replaced my shoes with a new shoe so next time I will probably have to change shoes.... but I am happy that now is not the time.

***UPDATE 5-26-09****

I just received an update - they just cancelled my order saying the shoes were not available. I was worried about this - now I guess my worries came true. Now I don't know what shoes I will buy. I am not comfortable just buying a different pair because I don't know what other pair will actually give me the same support I need. It seems the only option I have will be to go to the store and get fitted again. I just didn't want to do that because I didn't want to pay $100 for my next pair of shoes..... really can't afford that right now!

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com - subscribe - follow