Friday, January 19, 2007

Goodbye Mizuno, Hello Brooks!


I went to get re-evaluated at the running store. Sixteen months ago I was placed in a pair of Mizuno Wave Nirvana's. I'm now on my third pair.

Well, a lot has changed in sixteen months. I have been injured. I have been fitted for orthotics. I have run over 800 miles. I have realized, thanks to Coach Terry, that I am a heal striker.

Obviously, a new evaluation was a good idea. First I was put into a pair of neutral Asics. He had seen my poor Mizunos, which have only 181 miles on them, and exclaimed "that's not a lot of miles, but WOW you're a real heal striker!" After watching me just walk, he stated that my right foot acts completely different from my left foot and indeed needs some motion control. He put me in a pair of Saucony and said "perfect!" Next came Nike, which merited an "aaah - not as good - those Saucony's are you." To rule out other possible options, he put me in Brooks. He was impressed. He commented that they looked like my feet. Somehow, I thought that was a nice, sweet thing to say. So it came down to Saucony vs. Brooks. They both felt about the same, but the Brooks felt ever-so-slightly better. Brooks it was! They're Brooks Adrenaline GTS 6's (the "7" latest and greatest model can be found on www.brooksrunning.com).

He also commended my training schedule, saying that doing 20 tomorrow IN THESE SHOES would be the thing to do, since my feet are "toughened up" now due to my previous weeks of training. He advised me to wear them around today and tonight and if they feel like "my feet," then I should "run 20 tomorrow like there's nothing to it." He said a lot of people (i.e. those following the official Little Rock Marathon training schedule) put in too many miles too close to the race and are just exhausted at the starting line. SO - thanks again to Coach Terry (www.planet3rry.com) for designing my training schedule.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm a Brooks girl too - but Radius! Good luck with the 20 miler tomorrow - hopefully you can beat the elements!

CewTwo said...

I am dreading going to the shoe store. I know that I have close to 1,000 miles on these shoes that I have. I love them, but I know they are degrading. They are my second pair of Mizunos.
I was going to say... Bought today and 20 miles tomorrow? You are a willing runner...

MarathonChris said...

Nice shoes. I wear Brooks as well but since my feet are flat, I need stability so I have a pair of Addiction's (actually I have 3 pairs - all with over 200 miles on them). I rotate them so I always have a pair broken in.

Not sure why I had trouble getting to your blog earlier, but it appears to be ok now.

MarathonChris said...

Oh, and have a good 20 miler tomorrow! A trick I have used - to keep feet from blisters (with the new shoes and all) try putting body glide on your feet on those spots that are prone to blisters. If you don't have body glide you can use a deoderant stick. In all my really long runs and the marathon, I never once had a blister!

Run strong!

Unknown said...

you are too kind...

glad that you got a pair of shoes that works for you!

Maddy said...

I LOVE my Brooks Adrenaline GTS 6's - I have a little more than 100 miles on this pair (my second). It's amazing what a good pair of shoes can do for you - minus the toenails in my case.

About 10 years ago, the tagline for Brooks Women's shoes was "You Run Like a Girl... Good For You" How awesome is that!