So, my New Balance 860v3 didn't have 100 miles on them yet. So, how did I end up with new shoes?
I left the house on Saturday to go to run for your life's Ladies Fit and Fabulous Weekend. I was particularly interested in the Good Form Running clinic that morning. New Balance was sponsoring the clinic, and I'd read a little about it. I didn't realize how badly I heel-strike, until my parents took pictures of me at the Shamrock 4 Miler. Ouch.
Here's my outfit. I tried to look cute. ((Ha!))
The clinic was short ((maybe 45 minutes?)) but covered the basic premise of Good Form Running. They led us through posture, mid-foot strike, cadence, and lean. The two instructors ((one from run for your life, the other from New Balance)) then answered questions. It was pretty informative, and the advice that increasing cadence will help prevent heel-striking was helpful.
Session 2 of the weekend was gait analysis and shoe fitting. I wasn't planning to stay for this, but I got caught up in a conversation with two other ladies and just stood there. The more I thought about it, I wondered if maybe my shoes were contributing to the problem I've been having with my leg. So, I decided it wouldn't hurt to have them look.
The guy from run for your life ((Darius)) was pretty awesome. He didn't spend quite as much time watching me walk and run as the lady that fit me at run for your life Dillworth did, but he immediately said the shoes I was wearing weren't right for me. Too much correction, especially for my right foot ((which is, you know, attached to the leg that hurts.!)) He brought out three pairs of shoes for me to try, starting with the Pure Cadence 2.
As soon as I put them on, I noticed how much more comfortable they felt compared to my current shoes. They were cushy, although not too much so. I stood up and walked around the store in them, and they felt a little weird and bouncy. One of the ladies who worked there suggested I take them for a run outside on the sidewalk out front. Woah. They felt awesome. My feet felt way lighter ((of course!)) I was sold almost immediately, although I thought I needed to try all my options.
When I told him how much I liked the Pure Cadence, he suggested not trying the New Balance. He gave me a pair of Adidas to try on, which were much heavier. They felt wrong under my feet, especially the right one, and didn't feel comfortable when I took them for a run out front.
I left with a cookie. And a brand new pair of Pure Cadence 2s.
I declared them my new boyfriends ((black and blue, those are boy colors, right?)) and decided we needed a first date. I took them out to the greenway to give them a spin.
We did four miles together, keeping around 11:04 pace. I felt super comfortable until the last mile, when my leg started to hurt a tad and the heat began to bug me. Otherwise, it was great.
I got frozen yogurt at Yoforia afterwards, which is always great.
So far, I really like my new shoes. They are super comfortable, and I think lighter shoes fit me better since I'm used to wearing lightweight flip flops every day. We'll see how the shoes serve me in the future, but I'm pretty stoked. I'm planning a Monday morning easy run in them on the treadmill.
