Speaking of Shoes*….

After reading through a couple of the comments that were posted, I wanted to tell a story about how I figured out that the ASICS GT2160’s were the shoes that made sense for me.

Being an old fart, I can empathize with one of our ex-Presidents:

When I want to avoid getting fooled, I go the tried and true conservative route. That meant that the first time I realized that running shoes were not the ones that you pick up in the sale rack at a discount retailer, I decided to head down the street to Road Runner Sports.

To be honest, they do a great job for beginning runners. They put you on a pressure pad and then do a treadmill, look at your footprint and watch your gait, and then put you into the most expensive shoe they can based on your analysis. Oh well.  They’re entitled to their profit.  After my first visit, they put me in a pair of ASICS Kayanos (maybe like the 13’s or 14’s back then). And they were heaven…

Until I reached about 250 miles and started having all these aches and pains. I went back to Road Runner and they put me in a new pair of shoes. I was in heaven again. For another 200 or so miles. Needless to say – this was beginning to become an expensive proposition. By this time I had joined a running club and after talking to some of the folks in the club, I was pointed to a local store that was run by a guy considered to be reputable. Long story short, I visited the store, took my shoes, and he gave me the entire rundown on ASICS. He then suggested I get into a pair of ASICS GT-2130’s. Basically the same support, a little less cushion, but a lot more wear. And I was in heaven. This time for 450 miles. I replaced the 2130’s with 2140’s. 400 miles and repeat. And repeat. And repeat.

These days, shopping for shoes involves sitting at my computer and finding the best price on a pair of ASICS GTwhatevers. But – I couldn’t have done that without that first trip to the big store that set me in the right direction to begin with.

*Sorry about the inconsistent posts these days**. I am going to try to make an effort to be more consistent in both my training and running. Lots going on these days, but if I told you about that, I wouldn’t have anything to post about later this week.

** And thanks for reading! Even with the inconsistency and the lack of real content, I am floored every day when my Google analytic reports come in.