Running Shoes and Other Musings

I'm not sick. I was sick last week, and the week before, and before that even! And now I am feeling physically well, but completely exhausted, as if working on a sick belly the last several weeks has taken all the energy out of me. This week I was just tired! Wiped out! But today I was feeling good enough to get at things at a little lower intensity. I'm on the mend!

Had a nice slow ride on TK today. A new friend, Mel, and I rode together. TK was sluggish, but not sore. Personally, I think his laziness knows no bounds! But he's probably still recuperating from his runaway on the weekend. It's alright, Mel's mare wanted to take it easy too, and she looks like one who can be a bit high strung, so probably best to go steady the first few rides.

It was really time for new shoes. I was poking a toe out the top end of one of my existing one, and feeling stress on my calves, shins and ankles, and my feet ached for a long time after every run. I wear my shoes EVERYWHERE: to work, for all training, cross training, and whatever else, because I am usually just too lazy or too busy to change into a different pair of shoes. So I really wear them down to the ground.

I bought new shoes, and went for a quick 5km run on the treadmill to make sure they were going to be alright. They are a different brand and style than I've worn before. Brooks Adrenaline GTS 8's.

Old and New!
The old look way worse in real life!

But anyway, as nice as these new shoes are, I think I got totally ripped off by our little local sports shop! I saw the same shoes as I wanted to buy but simply could not justify (Asics Gel Blackhawk) on sale at Rebel sports AFTER I got home for $130 LESS than I almost paid! Uh HELLO!?!

And the shoes I did buy I saw advertised for $40 less (they are last years stock) and the new shoes from this year were advertised for only $20 more than I just paid for last years model. Now I suppose that's not as bad of a deal, but it still made me want to take my shoes back!

It also makes me wish I lived near a big city! Sheesh!

But basically, now that I know that pretty much any shoe in the Asics Gel range (Blackhawk, Nimbus, Kayano) or Brooks Adrenalines in size 8.5 fit and feel great, I will never buy from the shop here again. I will order online or shop for them on eBay.

I also intend to wear these shoes exclusively for training, at least until the Blackwood is over to keep them strong and supportive right through to the race.

Do you have a particular brand or style of running shoe you are loyal to? Do you have a shoe budget? Where do you get the best deals? And are you an everywhere wearer, or are your shoes task-specific?