Running Shoes

For the past few months of my running journey, I’ve been running on these shoes. I purchased them on Rue La La last year, because a few of the running blogs I read mentioned that they loved their Saucony shoes. If you remember, I tried C25K earlier this year, and I just flat out quit. In the meantime, I wore these shoes as my casual tennis shoes, and then when I got back into C25K this past summer, I ran on them again. I know if runners are reading this, they are shaking their heads at me. I still have a lot to learn.

A few weeks ago, I got my shoes fairly muddy and realized that part of the sole was completely worn down on my running shoes. Crud. 🙁 Those shoes didn’t even last a year, so I assumed that Saucony shoes were just crappy. The more forums and articles I read, the more that I realized 1. As an obese gal, shoes won’t last as long & 2. I shouldn’t have worn my running shoes for casual every day wear. So, I went back to Rue La La for a flash sale and bought these, because they looked similar and were pretty.

I broke them in a couple of times before I ran my 5K. They were OK, however, I started to notice this terrible pain in my ankles after every run. Just random pain from walking in them, so I got a bit concerned and realized I probably shouldn’t purchase shoes based on how pretty they are anymore. I needed to get properly fitted.

The big push to go to a running store was when my local Fleet Feet posted on Facebook that they were having a one day sale on all sale shoes. $25 for any pair of sale shoes (for the hour that I could go after work). I even told H about it since we’re both looking for better work-out shoes. I mean, seriously…$25 for shoes? What. a. steal!

However, I was SO nervous to go to a running store. Why? Well, at first sight I don’t look like I belong there. I hate being judged and stared at in public, because of my size, and I knew that going to a running store, I would be a misfit.

When I got to the store, I was hoping I’d be invisible. No one would notice me, right? WRONG. Weekdays at a running store, even for a massive shoe sale = dead. Two ladies greeted me when I walked in, and I just wanted to say “I know I’m fat, I know I’m slow, but I’m on my way…please don’t judge me.” But, the cheap person in me was like “sale shoes?”

They pointed me out to one pair that was left in my size. They were crazy bright and awesome. I tried them on, and I was sold. $25 for Adidas? Heck yes!

Then I thought about it, and asked if these were OK for me. Since the store was otherwise dead, two girls were helping me and they asked if I’ve ever been fitted for shoes before? Are you new to running? How many miles/week do you run? What’s your favorite color? Ok, maybe not favorite color, but they genuinely seemed to want to hear my “running story”. So, I explained to them that I’m on my last week of Couch to 5k, and because of mainly running and diet, I’ve lost about 40 lbs. I run 3x/week, approximately 30 minutes each time, but I’m aiming to run longer with time.

I don’t know why, but I still felt nervous about what they were going to say. Were they going to laugh at me? Were they going to tell me I have super messed up feet? They asked me to walk barefoot around the store to observe my stride. Luckily, the only issue they noticed was that my right foot needed extra stability, and one of them asked if I had an injury in my right leg.

They were spot on with that.

You see in high school, I broke my right ankle and ever since, my ankle has a tendency to roll. Luckily, I never rolled my ankle running, but it happens fairly often when I’m just walking around. And also, remember when I mentioned my ankle pain? Well, yeah…those new Saucony shoes didn’t offer the additional stability I needed.

So, I asked if I could try on some shoes, and she said the best shoes for me would be for mild pronation. She brought out three pairs of shoes: New Balance, Brooks and Asics. I was easily able to narrow out one of them, which were the Asics. They were SO comfy, but I didn’t feel the same support like the New Balance and Brooks shoes had. Then I had a dilemma…I had a New Balance on one foot and a Brooks on the other. They pretty much felt the same to me, but in the end after a little bit of walking/jogging in the store, I went with the Brooks. They are the Brooks Ravenna 3 shoes, if you were wondering the exact shoe. 🙂

I tried to keep my cheapness to myself, because I knew I was doing the right thing. I did look over the counter to see the price of these, though. $100. That’s the most I’ve EVER spent on a pair of shoes, y’all. ::gulp:: I also ended up getting the $25 Adidas, because she said they would work fine for regular workouts and plus, they’re such a fun, bright color. 🙂

When I got home, I couldn’t wait to try these babies out. I ran last night in my new shoes, and I have to say, it was pretty awesome. It could have been in my head, but I felt like I could put more effort into my run (maybe the good weather helped with that too), and I also didn’t have the ankle soreness OR the terrible tight feeling in my legs afterwards.

In case you were curious about my current Saucony shoes, I did a little research and apparently they are a generic shoe that isn’t even offered in running stores. 🙁 I guess they’ll end up as a good casual shoe then, since I don’t want them to go to waste. 😛 Lesson learned: No more running shoes from a flash sale site.

When did you get your first fitting for running shoes? Did you find it to be worth it too?