Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Fare Thee Well

Over the last several months I've built a small militia of running shoes and the time has come to give an honorable discharge to one of my long standing foot soldiers.  My first pair of New Balance MR1400s (reviewed here) have served me well - if I had to guess I've probably put over 300 miles on them.  Though it pains me to retire a pair of shoes, today's run was all I needed to make clear to me that the end has come.  

No, those shoes are not on my kitchen counter...

 The wet conditions and continued drizzle made me think it'd be a good idea to wear my oldest sneakers which are well past their prime.  Not only is the sole completely worn down on one side but they just felt dead; running in them reminded me of trying to hit a forehand with a washed up tennis ball.  I almost went back and changed my shoes but I figured I'd give them one last spin around the block (I should say many spins) and bid them a proper adeiu.  In retrospect it was probably a dumb move (risking injury and all) but luckily after the run I'm no worse for the wear.

I like to think that I have good form when running; I'm a forefoot striker with quick turnover and am relatively light on my feet.  That said, one look at the wear pattern on my shoes indicates a pretty significant inward roll of the foot.  There are no ill-effects of this motion on my running but it does seem to test the sole of my running shoes.  As much as I love the MR1400s (I bought a pair to have on reserve not too long after getting the first pair) they simply don't wear well.  In their defense, racing flats were not intended for the type of mileage that I've been running lately. 

Rounding out my current collection is my other pair of MR1400s, the Adidas Adios, and my most recent addition the Brooks Launch.  I use all three pairs frequently (there are plenty of weekly miles to spread around) and each pair has come to have a specific use.  I'll plan to get some reviews of both the Adidas and the Brooks soon.  I'm digging each pair (for totally different uses) and I'm still on the fence as to which shoes will be the lucky ones to brave the pavement in Arizona.

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