The importance of a shoe

While visiting with our insurance agent, he stressed the importance of a runner's shoe.  He recommended that I go to a running store and be fit.  I said, "That would be great, but where's the closest running store, Dallas?"  He then revealed a nifty secret....Waco had just recently had a running store open in town... On The Run .  So, I paid them a visit the following day and met Todd Millerd, the manager.  He was wonderfully fantastic fitting me for shoes.  The soreness in my knees was most likely caused from the fact that I was wearing a size 10 Nike, when I should have been in an 11!  Todd, also at one point looked at my bare feet and stumbled on his words when he said "You're second toe is as long if not longer than you're first toe."  I quickly responded, "For your information, that is a princess toe....my dad told me so."  Then, I burst out laughing...it was true, I can remember my dad telling me that, and it is a trait that both me and my brother have....I bet he never told my brother it was a princess toe.  This got me to thinking though, my shoes were a size to small, my second toe is longer than my first and my left foot is bigger than my right.  So, my second toe on left foot was taking a beating from the end of the shoe which may have jammed that knuckle...hence the pain....again, I highly recommend going somewhere geared towards runners and having them look at your feet!  You only have one pair of 'em!

Back to shoes... I have to say I have traditionally loved Nike, but I decided to veer from the mundane path I have been on and went with the New Balance 890....

Now, although I chose this shoe, I must say that it is a road shoe.  And, so you will understand me better, when I run at home, I am running on a gravel/rock road.  So, the road shoe probably isn't going to hold up all that well.  But, being that I clearly graduated to the Saskewatch category of shoes, On The Run, didn't have a trail in a size 11.  However, they have ordered a Brooks Cascadia for me that will hopefully be here tomorrow...

I will let you know how those workout for me later...  But, after doing some research and visiting with Todd, a runner's shoes should be replaced every 250 - 400 miles.  However, you can increase the life of your shoes if you alternate pairs because it gives each shoe a longer recovery period...similar to a runner's muscles. 

Happy trails,

PrairieKerri