Show Me the Shoes!

Mama got a new pair of shoes! Shoes mean a whole different thing when you are training. If you ask a “serious” runner how many shoes they have, they know your not asking about pumps! I further will bet that most have more than one pair. Compared to my running friends, I probably am a shoe lightweight. I’ve only got 4 pair. That being said, the only reason that I have so many is that I don’t get rid of my “old” ones when I get new shoes. I keep for different purposes. Some become my Crossfit shoes although, I do sometimes have to remove them for certain lifts. Some become my trail shoes and some are just my backup shoes.

Now I can dream about the day that I have enough money in the bank to buy specialized crossfit shoes, specialized trail shoes, winter running shoes, biking shoes and a whole closet of different shoes. Until such a day happens, I will have to work with what I’ve got. Now even though I can’t have a closet full of shoes, I do have to make sure that the pair that I put the most miles on is not only a good shoe, but a good fit. More than likely you are not going to find that shoe in your local Department Store. Now don’t get me wrong, I love my local Kohls for day to day stuff but specialized shoes is not what they are known for.

So how do you know what the right shoe and fit for you is? You could Google it and loose half your day or week reading reviews and researching it. Even then, you more than likely will not know. The best way to get the right shoe is go to the right store. Find your local store where they have people who know what they are talking about. I love my local Running Store. The kind of store that will have you run on a treadmill to watch how your feet land. This will help them lead you to the right shoe for your feet. Yes, your shoe will be more expensive than the chain store, but it doesn’t have to break the bank.

The bottom line is that your feet are going to take A LOT of pounding. As you ramp up the miles, you need to make sure that your feet will be comfy enough to handle the load. Think about it according to the American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine on a run your feet hit the ground at a force three to four times your body weight each step. Damn, I don’t want to do the math on that, but that is a lot I am putting my poor feet through. Today I went on a 4 mile run. There are approximately 5,280 feet in a mile. So just this morning I pounded my feet approximately 21,120 times four times my body weight which is not your concern:)

Be kind to your feet. Spring for the good shoes. It will be cheaper in the long run (no pun intended) than it will be to have to go see one of those Poditrists because you injured your foot wearing the wrong shoes.

Perfect example:

These are good running shoes