Shoes: An Update
A few weeks ago (I think, time has no meaning), I wrote about the shoes I wear tested for New Balance. As I may have mentioned, I was at my parents' for almost a month. I only brought two pairs of shoes to the house with me - the test shoes and my Nike Pegasus - so once the test shoes were returned, I was left with one pair of shoes. I didn't run as much as I planned at the house, but I did put enough miles on the shoes to get them over 250 miles, so I figured it was time to start looking at new shoes. I don't have a specific problem with the Pegasus (or as I call them, Pegs), but I also don't love them, so I decided to head over to the running store to try out shoes.
I really wasn't sure what to expect from shoe fitting in the COVID-era, but it really wasn't that different than in the non-COVID era. Which is maybe not great. But okay.
The first thing the salesperson did was ask me to stand on a thing that measured my feet and where I put pressure when standing (spoiler alert: I have high arches). Then we talked a bit what I'm currently wearing and what I like, and he brought out three pairs of shoes for my to try: the newest Pegasus, the Brooks Ghost, and a surprise (which was the Saucony Kinvara, which I've wanted to try for a while).
I started with the Ghosts. They felt good - a nice mixture of cushioning and responsiveness. The Kinvaras were okay, but I felt like I was landing very heavy in them, which probably meant not enough support. The Pegasus were way too big and I felt like I was running out of them. The salesperson brought out a smaller size, and I had the same problem.
At this point, the Ghosts were the front-runner, but I wanted to try them on the treadmill. (Spoiler alert: nobody wiped down the treadmill before or after I ran on it. But I hand sanitized.). At first they were okay, but after a minute I got some shin pain on my left side (where, granted, I was dealing with a boo-boo on the back of my foot). So it was back to the drawing board.
The next shoe I tried was the Saucony Triumph, and I was landing on the outside of my foot in those (I think overpronating ... I always mix up over and under). So that was a no. Then we tried the Nike React Infinity ... damn those shoes are fast. They mostly felt good, except that they were digging into my arches a bit (which is weird because I have high arches). I tried them with my insoles on the treadmill, and I still felt that digging into my arch. So those were a no. But they were fast, and I kinda really wished they had worked. Seriously fast shoe.
At this point the guy I was dealing with had to leave, so he asked someone else to take over, and suggested that he bring me the Asics Gel Nimbus. The new guy brought out the Gel Nimbus and the Gel Culumus. I tried the Nimbus first and they were a bit heavy for me. I tried the Cumulus and they felt great. Tried them again with my insoles and they were amazing. Tried them on the treadmill and no problems. So those were the winners.
It took 8 shoes and staying past closing, but I finally found the shoe (there were a bunch of color options but I think this is the one that's least like anything I've had before):
I still haven't run in them. Hopefully Monday. I'm hoping they work (it's been a hot minute since I ran in Asics, but I started in Asics so I'm kinda excited to be back in them). If they don't, I may try the Ghost again just to see if they feel better on the road, but I'm hoping these are the shoes and it doesn't come to that.
Also at one point the guy helping me was also helping another runner and the runner said "I don't know if this matters, but when I run I run slowly, like 12:00 min/mi" and the store employee said, "running is running". Yes, running is running, and pace doesn't matter.