If The Shoe Fits . . .

Wear it. Or so the saying goes. But what happens when you thought the shoe fit but in fact it really doesn't and it is causing pain in your IT band and knees?

WARNING - if you are tired of my running posts skip this read.

It seems that after going to a running store early last year and being fit for a shoe, in the end it wasn't the right kind of shoe for my foot. Go figure. Because I wasn't partaking in intense cardio exercise the lovely $110 Asics I purchased worked for my feet and had caused no problems until recently. Fast forward to the beginning of this month and factor in three to four 30 or more minute run/walk sessions both on a treadmill and outdoors a week + the wrong shoes and you have a recipe for pain. One of my trainers last week alluded to the possibility that the shoes I was wearing might not be the right ones for my feet. See for running there are generally three types of shoes: Motion Control (for people with little to no arch -- yours truly), Stability (for "normal" feet) and Cushioning (for high arches). Seems I was in a stability shoe but with no arch to speak of my feet have been anything BUT stable.

So last night Bill and I and the kids headed to a great store by Lake Harriet called Marathon Sports. They have been around for about 20 years and are a locally owned shop. All the staff is highly trained and in fact most are over qualified to work there. I had a great guy help me who took one look at my feet and then at my shoes and said, "I don't know why they ever put you in these shoes." Ugh. He brought out three shoes for me to try -- Asics, Brooks and Mizunos. I tried the Asics first and thought they were the shoe. The Mizunos felt hard and uncomfortable on my foot. Then I put on the Brooks. Now mind you when it comes to running shoes you throw fashion and favorite colors OUT the door. The Brooks while UGLY with a lime green, silver and white color scheme, felt incredibly wonderful on my feet. A short run on the store's treadmill sealed the deal for me. The ugly green Brooks it is! Really they are ugly -- I should take a picture and post it! So it appears I really must be growing up -- I sacrificed fashion for comfort. However don't look for me to be ditching my high-heels any time soon -- hey a girl's still gotta look good right?