maiden voyage, NB 759

After much deliberation, I finally picked up a new pair of running shoes. Still planning to take the old ones to 1000 or more but thought it best to get started on breaking in a new pair for the future. Not that running shoes really need much or any break-in – they don’t. I guess it’s more the foot that needs to adapt to the form of the new shoe.

I’ve been looking at shoes online for a while. Mostly at Zombie Runner. But you can only learn so much about looking at shoes on a computer screen. Even though I’ve had a lot of luck in the past when buying online there is something just a lot more real about going to the store and getting those shoes in your hands. Well, on your feet, but hands seem to be important, too.

Plus, I figure why not check in with the local running community of customers and employees at Run With Us on Lake. Support local business.

I’m also trying to support my local countrymen by buying shoes (and other stuff) made here in the USA. This seems like a good thing. I hope it doesn’t sound odd to you. Sometimes I feel like a little more national pride could be a good thing for us, Americans.

So the choice was New Balance, 759 road shoe. Many of my miles are on dirt these days but I don’t find it helpful to have trail shoes – road shoes seem simpler. Less is more, to a point. Of course, there are sometimes advantages to trail shoes, but mostly in more steep trail like conditions compared to the flat arroyo that I frequent. And, yes, some road shoes can be over built, too. Many probably are. These, seem pretty mild, though. Hoping so, anyway.

Amazingly, I found these on the clearance table even though they’re the current model and just what I was looking for anyway and exactly my size. I took this as a sign from god to get them on my feet right away.

I took them out for their first run this morning. Just an easy road hills run with Hil. They felt good. I’ll have to be careful to maintain my foot form in these for a while though because they’re more forgiving than my current/old shoes. So I could fall into bad habits again. I think this is why so many runners have foot and leg injuries. The new squishy shoes allow them to run incorrectly for long periods of time without the runner noticing. Then after putting a few hundred miles on the shoes they get a little stiffer and less spongy and the foot starts to absorb the road/surface energy more intensely through improper form, foot fall.

Good luck, shoes. Long may you run…