That New Shoe Smell & Why a Great Running Store is Key

Aaaaaah.  I love it.  Yes, I've blogged about it before, deal with it.  There's just something so spectacular about a new pair of running shoes.  And I'm willing to bet that most of you get just as excited about it as I do!

I knew that I'd pushed my last two pair of Nimbus 12's past their comfort level for long runs, but was scared to switch shoes before a race - and with as many races as I did last fall, there just never seemed to be a good time.  So now, two weeks after the Disney Marathon (yes, a recap will come at some point) I knew I needed new shoes.  So after a good 7 mile run on Saturday morning - which also reinforced the need for a new pair - I stopped in at Luke's Locker to get re-fitted, sure that due to my blister issue I'd end up in a different shoe.

After taking a look at my existing pairs, the shoe guy had me both walk and run in my socked feet and then sat me down to talk to me - really talk to me.  I did get slightly chastised for letting my mileage get too high on those two pairs as he looked at my healing blisters from the race.  We had a great conversation about my past and upcoming races (turns out his wife ran Goofy two weeks ago!) as well as my current training program.  We talked about my plan to stick with halfs for a while and to lose the weight I put on in the last two years while marathon training.  

All of this reinforced his belief that the Asics were still the right shoe for me.  I need a neutral, cushioning shoe, and Asics is a great shoe for that.  But, to give me a choice he also wanted me to try on a pair of Brooks, so he brought out a pair of each model.  After running in both the Asics and the Brooks, I decided to stick with a new model of my trusty Asics - the Nimbus 14! 

This is exactly why I love going to a running store that knows what they're doing.  I was fully prepared to change shoes just for the sake of change - and instead left with the new model of my existing shoe and armed with a better knowledge of the shoe itself and how I should use it.  These guys know what they're talking about.