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Posts tagged ‘Nike’

Jun 24

A better fit

A couple weeks ago, I blogged about my second marathon slump in San Diego. There were a lot of reasons it all went bad, but one of them was shoes. Before I could even write my race recap, I went to my local Fleet Feet store. I’ve purchased my last three pairs of shoes from a great sales associate who takes her time with me, answers all my questions and understands my needs when it comes to shoes.

It was because of all this I was hoping the Saucony Hurricane 14s that I purchases earlier this year would be the new shoes for me. Instead, I realized more than 100 miles in that they weren’t. I was still getting blisters. I was in pain. I was trying to make them work.

They. Weren’t. Working.

So I went back to Fleet Feet, shoes in hand, and admitted what I had known, probably, since before the marathon: The Hurricane 14s were hurting my feet.

The sales associate shared my pain. Only weeks before, I had posted that they were totally working for me on the store’s Facebook group.

Then they weren’t.

She could see it in my thrashed feet. The shoes were making both fleet arch slightly, meaning my baby toe was pushed under my other toes and the inner side of each of my feet was being rubbed raw. My feet looked like a disaster.

I tried on three more pairs of shoes. Another pair of Sauconys. And a pair of Brooks.

Finally, another pair of Nikes.

The LunarEclipse +2.

I don’t want to say it was love at first site. It wasn’t. I had spent so much time in shoes that were consider more functional than pleasing that I’d never had a pair of “pretty” running shoes before.

These were definitely pretty.

I was worried. I think I had ever right to be after the Saucony disaster.

Then I went on my first run. No pain. No rubbing. No “breaking in.”

They fit me in a way that was comfortable, yet functional. I felt fully supported, but they weren’t bulky like my Equalon +4’s had been. The pair was also much, much lighter than any of my previous running shoes. But I was still cautious. I kept running, already putting more tan 40 miles on them and I haven’t had one issue.

I did a hot day outdoor run in them and they didn’t slip and slide. I remember at mile 3 looking at my running buddy Jennie and saying: “I’m sorry I ever cheated on Nike.”

And I am.

The LunarEclipse +2’s are stability shoes. But they are also slightly wider than the Sauconys. They also seem a tad bit longer. The biggest difference, though, is in the upper on the area near my baby toe.

The Hurricane 14s had a hard, yet flexible plastic. My Nike Equalon +4’s had a “bunion control” area. That area would expand based on my foot movement. The Sauconys wouldn’t expand. In fact, they would push my toes in. The inner side would push my feet in even more.

The new shoes, though, have a much more flexible upper.

That is the specific area in question. Even though that thin detail band goes across the area where my little toes go, it doesn’t bind them in. It lets them be much more flexible and move with greater ease.

Even better? I’ve had multiple pain free runs with these shoes. I seem to be able to go and go and go.

I’m hoping this means I found my “new” running shoes. These definitely are a better fit.

I’ve passed my Saucony’s with 100-plus miles on them, still in very good shape, to my mom. She has a job that requires her to be on her feet a lot, so they’ll likely be a good fit for her. She has much more narrow feet than I do. (I have flat little feet that don’t bother me all that much but are apparently bad for running.)

I’m considering this a costly mistake. The Sauconys were $140. The Nikes were $135.

But I’d rather trade in the shoes that were making running hard and unbearable for a pair that makes me enjoy it again. It’s made all the difference.

 

Jun 12

A runner’s read: 14 Minutes

When my brothers gave me a Barnes and Noble gift card for my recent birthday, I automatically knew what I’d be picking up.

Alberto Salazar of the famed Nike Oregon Project had just released an autobiography titled “14 Minutes.”

The title stems from Salazar’s collapse on the Nike campus in Eugene in 2007. Newspapers at the time described it as a “heart episode.” It turns out Salazar suffered a near-fatal heart attack. Had a doctor and a paramedic not been at a nearby football camp also happening on the campus, and had Salazar’s star running pupil Galen Rupp not ran to summon them, Salazar might have never lived to tell his story.

He was legally dead for “14 Minutes.”

The book, though, isn’t just about the heart attack.

It’s a beautiful narrative about Salazar’s Cuban family and the development of his love of running.

He talks about being an awkward type. A skinny Cuban teen in Massachusetts. He ran his heart out and soon joined up with the Boston Track Club (there is much more to the story, but I’ll leave that to the book).

Salazar also talks about his near obsession with running and how, even today, he’s still trying to gain perspective. There’s a love story brewing here too when he writes about falling for his wife Molly.

I’ll never run as fast as Salazar, a three-time New York City marathon winner, but his passion is contagious in his writing. He works through his injuries to achieve some pretty amazing fetes, including a win in the South African Comrades Marathon.

Salazar does come across as arrogant at points in the 256-page memoir, but most of that is when he is touting his accomplishments. To be fair, he also touts the accomplishments of those who have trained under him, including Kara Goucher who was one of his pupils until last fall. He seems very proud, especially, of Rupp who it seems like he treats as his own son.

It’s a quick read too, not bogged down by over complicated prose or wordiness. Instead, Salazar seems to narrate as if he’s having a conversation with the reader.

Overall, it’s a solid book showcasing a runner’s perspective on life and how his passion for the sport has shaped his decisions since he started running. A good read, even if you aren’t an uber competitive runner.

May 4

Mourning a loss

I went to my local Fleet Feet store earlier this week to find something, anything, to make my IT band feel a little better after my 21-miler in Big Sur. I realized, midway through my run on Sunday, that I’d put about 400 miles on my shoes since I took them out of the box before my marathon last year. Yes. I haven’t switched shoes in five months.

I kept thinking: I better get a new pair of shoes when I’m done.

The problem with running shoes is that you don’t think they could be hurting you, or the root of the problem. I love my Equalon 4+ shoes. I’ve loved them since the first time I tried them on. That first pair was purple. Every subsequent pair has been blue. I have probably eight or nine pairs lying around my house.

So it saddens me to say that Nike has discontinued the model.

I wasn’t having a particularly good day anyway, but this knowledge frustrated me in a way I cannot describe.

Maybe I can.

Yes. I did something like that in the store. I’m so embarrassing sometimes. I was sad. I was angry. Over shoes. Running shoes.

It happens. I know. I’ve read other bloggers lament about the loss of their running shoes.

Finding the perfect running shoes are kind of like Prince Charming putting the glass slipper on Cinderella. It doesn’t matter if the shoes are not attractive, mine weren’t, or if they seem a little dorky, they are perfect when you run miles upon miles.

I wore cheap cross trainers before my Equalons. I had back aches. My body felt out of alignment.

I had a moment when I bought the Equalons. My credit card had one too with the $140 price tag.

Once I thought about switching shoes. I tried on five different pairs, with a very patient sales associate, only to go back to the Nikes. The comfort was there. So was the stability. The Nikes were my shoes.

And now they are not.

Since I needed new shoes anyway, I was fitted on Tuesday for a new pair. A similar pair. One that had all the workings of the Nikes. That didn’t include Nikes, which seemed more flash than function. Two years ago I would have wanted the flash. Now I understand I need the function.

So I introduce to you my new shoe choice:

The Saucony Hurricane 14.

So far I’ve run two treadmill runs in them. I think they are working for me, which is what I was really, really worried about. The Hurricane 14s are lighter than my Nikes. They are also very breathable. The mesh at the toe is literally that, just mesh. You can even kind of see through it.

I’m hoping to go for a longer run outside this week. (Don’t I say that every weekend? Yes, yes I do.)

But the big test will be the Mermaid Run Sirena 18 I’m doing next week. I’m planning on wearing these since, so far, they haven’t required any “break in” time.

I’m sad about the Nikes. Definitely. I feel like I’ve lost an old friend. But I’m hoping the Sauconys treat me right.

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