New Shoes

          After the Boise Ironman, I decided that I really should get a new pair of shoes. I had some right ankle pain for a couple of days after the race. I know that this was probably due to probably needing new shoes and a slight heel strike toward the end of the race (there's a pic of me with a heel strike). So off I went shopping. I started to consider getting a shoe with a little more cushion since I had the heel strike, and the residual pain. I looked into possibly getting the Brooks pure connect, the Saucony Kinevara or even a pair of K-Swiss. I was leaning toward the Saucony since I used to run in an unknown pair of Saucony's before I went to the minimalist side and got the Inov-8's.

         I ended up choosing a different pair of Inov-8's, the F-lite 220's. These shoes had a little more cushioning, and a little more of a heel to toe drop. My F-lite 195's have only a 2mm drop, and the 220's have a 5mm drop. I was all excited about the shoes until I tried them on. The toe box was way too tight. You'll notice in a pic of my olf 195's that I kind of blew out the sides where my pinky toe is at the toe box. This didn't happen right away, but did over time. The 220's have a completely different material for the toe box and there was little chance of any sort of stretch or blow out like the 195's. I called Inov-8 and talked with a rep about the 195's vs 220's, my "blow out" and my training routine. I told him that I needed a shoe that I could not only Crossfit in, but then turn around and push out a 10k or a 13.1mi without any questions on which shoe I should be using. He said that the 195's were the best choice, and that I should continue to go with those. With that, I returned my 220's having never even ran in them and had to order a pair of 195's from a completely different company. The running warehouse is phasing out the 195's and no longer had any in my size.

           I ordered another pair of 195's and had them sent to my mom's house where I was heading. I really wanted to get my new shoes and get them broken in before the next race. The 195's came on and I was super excited. I didn't realize how much I had used and worn out my old shoes, until I looked at how much tread is on the old Vs the new. I know that I did train for a 13.1mi Race to Robie, and then all the other training upto this event. It ended up being close to a year and a half since I had gotten the original 195's. I was definately due for a new pair of shoes.

          So I got a new pair of Inov-8 195's in the black/white like I had before. I've only done one workout in them, and it wasn't even a running workout. I will wait a week or two until I switch my laces out. I'm thinking that in October I will order another pair and have 2 pairs of shoes to burn through the next year. I'm thinking that other pair will be a white/black, or the "strom trooper" model, or something else fun. I'll keep that pair at work. I never had any issues before with my old 195's until this last race, and I don't plan on having any issues with this pair either.

The new and the old pair. If you look close enough, you can see a ton of tread on the new pair (left) and then really no tread on the old pair.

Here's a close up of the old pair with the "blow out" on the toe box where my pinky toe is. Both shoes have this feature now that they are well worn. The new pair will soon have this feature as well I'm sure.