Mama Needs a New Pair of Shoes

This, from the Barefoot Athena.

Fivefinger Bikilas rule. However, they have their limitations. One of these limitations is that they suck up water like a sponge, and in the winter, any snow whatsoever becomes snowjam between my toes and immediately makes my toes cold. A dry cold, no probs. Any precipitation on the ground, we're in frostbite city.

SO, I meandered over to Performance Running Outfitters, where the lovely Ann put me on the treadmill and proceeded to inform me of a few crucial pieces of info. First, my right foot overpronates, meaning that it rolls inward slightly too much. Second, my left foot compensates for the overpronation on the right, and this is probably what causes the blistering and hot spots on my left foot, and a mild stability shoe would correct it. Third, since I have not injured myself with the Bikila, with slow increases in speed and distance, I am likely to avoid injury in another minimalist shoe, whether or not I correct the overpronation on the right foot. Fourth, I have very good forefoot running form. And fifth, my foot requires a curved footbed (where the footbed actually looks like a "c") as opposed to a straight footbed.

This might be a good place for me to say that I will never go to another running store again. The knowledge base at Performance is amazing.

So, I tried on a number of minimalist and forefoot shoes, including Newtons (too bulky), Mizunos (too stiff), and Saucony (too tight in the toe box) before finding the perrrrrfect outdoor running shoe for me, a pair of racing flats (HA!) made by the fine folks at Brooks. They feel like bedroom slippers, but I can put on Yaktrax and my toes won't get wet. AND, they were only 67 bucks.

I'll be taking my lovely nine year old daughter to meet Ann soon, so that we can get her square for running in the springtime. She wants to do her first run this year.