Despite my recent affinity for minimalist-shoe running, I went out and bought a new pair of Saucony Pro-Grid Guide II running shoes yesterday. I figured this is the last possible week I could buy a pair of shoes and have them sufficiently broken in by race day. My last pair was disintegrating on my feet and had, by my estimation 1,120 miles on them. It was time to say good-bye.
For the last couple of months I’ve been switching between my old Sauconys and my Nike Frees. I’ve never had the guts to take the Frees on a run longer than 7 miles. While I agree intellectually with the minimalist shoe philosophy advocated by Chris McDougall in his well researched book, Born to Run, I was too chicken to try a 15 miler on the Frees. Don’t get me wrong, I love those shoes-they fit like a glove, or rather, a sock, and I feel like my feet have benefited from all the exercise they have been getting that they don’t get in regular running shoes. They are pretty comfortable to boot. Nevertheless, modern roadways are not the plains of the Serengeti and I am not a subsistence hunter. So, I took a trip to Dicks and tried on a few pairs of Sauconys. (I love that brand and have been wearing them almost continuously since 1990. Anyone remember the Jazz 3000? You can buy it today for $19.95, although it was state of the art in the 1980s).
Today at lunch I slipped on the new kicks and knocked off a brisk five on the treadmill at lunch. What a difference! I forgot how good a fresh pair of shoes feels on the feet. Can’t wait to do 15 in them later on this week.
Taking the New eBike Home from Work
3 years ago
You should have time to break them in. I noticed the week before my marathon last year that I had about 550 miles on mine. I had a mini panic as I thought 500 was the limit and there was no time to break in a new pair.
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