The Shoes... they're new

I was thinking about my mileage for last year today and I realized that I am due for some shoes. That made me happy. New shoes ... ahhhh. The simple pleasures of life are quite varied at times.

I was not 100% pleased with the last pair of Saucony's that I bought. The first pair were fine and I had no complaints at all. But when they revamped the design they made the shoe a little narrower. I believe the thinking was to make the shoe a little snugger. What happened for me was that it increased the frequency of blisters when I wore the shoe, especially on long runs. If I ran more than 7 miles I was assured a blister. This was a bummer. During the beginning of last Summer I started to do some trail running and bought a pair of Brooks for the trails. I purchased the Cascadia model and I was very happy with everything about the fit of the Brooks model. In a vague explanation, it was just enough shoe for me. Not too snug, just enough cushion but so much that it felt like I was running on sponges. There was enough stability for my over-pronation but not so much that I felt like I was wearing a boot. It was a good shoe.

So when time came to buy a new shoe, I went to Brooks based on my happiness with their trail shoe and my concerns over the Saucony that I have been running in. So I went to the Philadelphia Runner at lunch and had one of their awesome sales people give me a hand. If I haven't mentioned it before I love this store. The staff is the best, they all know running (well they should I guess given their business) inside and out. They know the gear, know what you need and never sell you more than what you need. I respect the way they approach their business and as such I always shop here for shoes and anything else I need running related. It is the best store and it is one block from my office (and a half a block from the Pita Pit, one of my favorite lunch spots).

Today, I picked up a pair of Brooks Adrenaline 7's. I looked at the Axiom's and another higher end pair as well. The higher end pair was too much shoe for me and felt like it had too much cushion and was a bit tight through the instep. The Axiom's were at the not quite enough phase. So I guess I chose Mama Bear, right in the middle. I like the feel of the Adrenaline and I will give a full report on how they are holding up. I have high hopes based on my previous Brooks experience. Also, they look fast so that has to be true. I am sure I will be running faster than anyone in my neighborhood soon. Well that is probably already true as I have never seen anyone running in my neighborhood besides me. I won't breaking in the Brooks tonight as I have a longer run planned and I don't like to plan on 7 miles with a new pair of shoes right out of the box. New gear gives you a great feeling though.