This past weekend, my parents were in town for a belated birthday celebration. It was a pretty quick trip, but it is always nice to see them. And it’s definitely nice when your dad treats you to a nice meal out!! Thanks Dad!
On Saturday afternoon (after my run in the morning), my mother, grandmother and I went to a running shoe store. They had been after me for a while to get some new running shoes, especially since I had complained of puffy feet a few weeks ago. The puffiness has since gone away, but I knew deep down inside that they were right. My old shoes were probably pushing 4 or 5 years, and they were cross-trainers at best. My poor feet were in desperate need of some extra cushion, so off we went on the hunt for the perfect running shoe!
I walked into the store and immediately asked for some help. Being new to running, I have zero knowledge about proper foot attire, so I wasn’t even going to go it alone in a store full of shoes. A nice young man was more than willing to help me! He asked me a couple of questions and took a look at my old shoes that I was wearing, and immediately said, “Those are too small.” When he took a closer look, he confirmed that my big toe was literally right at the end of the shoe, which is apparently not a good thing. After confirming the fact that I have been torturing my poor feet the past few years, he asked me to take off my old shoes so he could watch me walk. After a quick walk to the other end of the store (it was a fairly small store), he said I have a nice arch, but should be fine with a neutral cushion.
After determining the type of show I’d need and the fact that I’d need at least a half size bigger, he brought back 3 pairs for me to try on. I tried on the Nike’s first and immediately felt a huge improvement. They felt great! He had me jog to the end of the store and asked me how they felt. I then tried on the Saucony’s and the Mizuno’s. They all felt awesome, but I really loved the Nike’s. They just felt slightly more cushiony. After seeing me in the size 10’s, he said one of my toes was still too close to the end of the shoe, so he bumped me up another half size- here comes big foot!! Ha! 🙂
I walked out very pleased with my purchase and very anxious to see how they would do on Monday when I ran again.
And here’s what I walked out with!
So far, these new kicks have been great! I would highly recommend any runner make sure you have some good, supportive, running shoes. I’m certainly not going to be running any marathons in these, but they have definitely helped me in my training for the 10k. And I happen to think the pink is pretty cute too! 🙂
