My tried and true Rogue Racers.
As a treat to myself for finishing Couch to 5K (for the third time... ), I took myself to Elite Feet in Williamsport to be fitted for a new pair of running shoes. I've been living in my Montrail Rogue Racers, which I have nothing but good things to say about, but I was concerned that as my mileage increased, I might start having issues since they're less supportive than my body probably needs.
All I can is this.. the staff at Elite Feet are SAINTS.
I have the world's weirdest feet. My feet are wide with a crazy high arch, high to the point that even my toes don't flatten out on the ground. I supinate when I stand, but when I run, I pronate. On top of that, I can't stand heavy shoes. When I'm running, I don't want to feel like there's anything on my feet, but I can't do the whole barefoot thing.
Brooks Ravenna 5s.
The lady who helped me out at Elite Feet went through EIGHT. PAIRS. of shoes with me and was so polite and kind the whole way through. We finally found a pair of light Asics that I really liked, but when I ran in them, she said they were making me pronate pretty terribly. I had given up all hope, but then she tried me in a pair of Brooks Ravennas which were everything I was looking for -- lightweight, supportive (and cute!). I got the thumbs up on the treadmill run, then they sent me out through the parking lot for a trial run and everything felt great. After eight pairs of shoes and almost an hour in the store, I was ready to roll.
Mom and I went for a jog Sunday morning and they seemed to be pretty solid. I felt like I was running on a treadmill instead of slogging along on pavement. I had a little bit of blistering on my ankle, but I also refuse to wear socks that go above my shoe, so that's expected no matter what I do. However, Thursday night, I took them out for a 4 1/2 mile jaunt and had some serious pain... My left foot went totally numb. I tried again over the weekend, tying them differently, and after 2 1/2 miles, the bottoms of my feet were burning.
Anybody else have such horrible issues finding the right shoes?
I'm going to give them another two weeks and see what happens. Elite Feet has a 30-day return policy, so if I'm not finding any luck with them, I'm going to take them back and try, try again. With my mileage steadily increasing each week, I don't want to face another setback with an injury from shoes that aren't working for me.
Fingers crossed that it's just an adjustment from my Montrails to my Ravennas and all I need is one more week of running.