Hello All. I would love your advice today. I need new running shoes. I try as hard as I can to live a minimal lifestyle, but somehow the shoes just keep on accumulating. Here is just a small snapshot of half of the many pairs running shoes I keep out (as opposed to those old ones in the closet):
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| from left to right: Montrail trail, Mizuno road, New Balance road, Skora minimalist, Asics trail, Scarpa trail (Can you tell I love trail running? And I do not cling to any brand?) |
But really, the shoes that I currently embrace for all (and I mean ALL) of my road running are the Mizuno Wave Inspires.
These guys are badly in need of replacement. I have trained for and run 2 halves and have done the majority of my marathon training in these shoes. I love them and it is sad to replace them.
So here is my question: I have run all my long runs, speed sessions, tempo runs, hill workouts, and easy runs in these shoes. To make them last longer, I am considering getting a different (perhaps lighter?) type of shoe for my speed and/or easy runs. The Wave Inspires have stability which I think helps for long runs and longer tempo runs. I am not sure it is necessary for shorter distances and speed, though. While I have and sometimes wear minimalist shoes, I do not intend to go much further than 3 or 4 miles in them.
But surely there has to be a perfect shoe out there for my lighter days that will not get me injured and will extend the life of my Wave Inspires.
Does anyone have any suggestions for lighter shoes to stay under 7 or 8 miles at a time? Do you have different shoes you consistently assign to different types of runs?
I wear Inspires for long runs and Wave Riders for 6 and under. It works well for me.
ReplyDeleteSounds so easy and simple; it makes the most sense since I love the Inspires. I may have to try this!
DeleteI like doing my short runs in my Fivefingers and my long runs in my brooks minimalist. At some point I need to replace the Brooks, but I will still be in minimal shoes so I am not changing the feel drastically from run to run.
ReplyDeleteI actually just posted about using different shoes for different types of runs on your "I Went Bright" post, haha!
ReplyDeleteSome people (me for example) prefer to use the same shoe for almost all of their running. I've raced everything from a 5k to 100 miles in the SKORA Base.
Other people have different shoes for different purposes, which is totally cool too. As I said in the other post, shoes are a tool. http://strengthrunning.com/2011/02/spectrum-minimalist-running-shoes/
As Running Ginger said, he likes to wear lighter shoes for shorter workouts, which is great. Research has shown that doing just that will benefit all of your running: http://skorarunning.com/bf-strength-training
Great - thanks for your input. I should really do a post on the Skoras and minimalist running because the Skoras really are great shoes!
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