The Brooks Glycerin 8's that I've worn lately are not for me, and I've been a Brooks shoe wearer since my first day of running in 2005. I took my running totals at the right side of this blog and my total is 5,999 miles in Brooks shoes. That's it.
I went to see Wendi at Gear West for a Gait Analysis today. I've seen her previously and had good luck getting fitted into the right shoe. I told her how my current shoes didn't feel 'right' but they felt great with 300 miles on them. Really helpful, huh? I also said that near the end of long runs my calf muscles were sore and that hasn't happened in other shoes. I didn't tell her that I wanted lighter and more flexible shoes in order to strengthen my feet even more than they are now. They felt very strong in July and are strong again now due to increased trail running this Fall.
Wendi determined that my feet are indeed very strong now and I need to get more flexible inserts and more flexible shoes than what I'm wearing now. Just the news I wanted to hear. She said my feet don't need the support they were getting and it's time for them to get even stronger. I ended up in ASICS Gel-Landreth 6 shoes with Blue Superfeet inserts. They feel great and Wendi said my form is perfect while running in them. Now I need miles on my feet to see how well this combo works. If everything goes well, I'll need to stock up on a few more pairs as I hate it when the shoe models get 'improved' for the next model year.
Wendi also said that although they aren't for everyone, I am a perfect candidate to run in the Vibram Five Fingers. She said that if I run in them, I should use them as a 'tool'. I didn't ask but I assume she meant part-time and as a way to improve my foot strength.
I'll be wearing my new ASICS tomorrow when my running odometer crosses 6,000.
--Mark
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3 comments:
Brand loyalty is funny. I've worn Asics for road shoes since the days befoe they were called Tiger, but they're not great for trails. I stopped wearing Brooks back in the days of the "varus wedge" - circa 1980! - that gave every wearer knee pain.
This cracked me up because earlier this year I switched from Asics to Brooks. Congrats on your big mileage milestone!!
Beth, I'm just helping to maintain balance in the shoe world...you go Asics>Brooks, I go Brooks>Asics. :-)
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