New Shoes!

ORN: { } <-- Rest day.

Last night I bit the bullet and bought a pair of new shoes. Tracy -- blogging pal, fearless leader of my running group, super-runner, sales associate at Ken Combs's Running Store, and all around badass -- hooked me up with a pair of Nike Air Structure Triax 11+. They look almost exactly like what you see to the left, although these are the Triax 10s, the previous version.

It took a while. I brought in my last two pairs of shoes, and she and Chris puzzled over my wear patterns. I told them how my New Balance 858s were fine in that, at first, I enjoyed the sense of stability they gave me. When I acquired them, I was hating a pair of Mizuno Wave Inspires that were killing my knees and hips. So, suddenly not having that pain anymore was a good thing. But I shortly noticed, that my feet were taking a terrible beating on long runs on account of the lack of cushioning.

They listened carefully and asked questions. Then Tracy and Chris collaborated a bit, and Tracy started hauling out shoes for me to try on. I tried on about eight different models from five or more brands. Ultimately, I chose the Nikes because they felt the best and felt the most comfortable. They seem to offer a good combination of support and comfort.

Tracy decided that my problem was a supination problem in my feet. She demonstrated this by placing my New Balances on the floor. They tilted outboard, giving a hint as to what my feet were doing with these shoes. I never knew I was doing that.

See, that's what you want in a shoe-buying experience. You want professionals who know their shit to take the time to get to know you and your issues. You want to try on a mess of shoes and run on them, not just walk them around the store. You want to ask and be asked all sorts of questions. KCRS rocks.

Thanks Tracy!