NEW SHOES! NEWS SHOES! NEW SHOES!
Regardless if they're running sneaks, ballet flats, oxfords, or 4 inch pumps, nearly every girl gets excited when you fall in pair with a new pair of shoes. Now that I'm recovering from the flue I decided it was time to get a new pair of sneaks to break into stride.
Traditionally I have always been a Nike girl when it came to my running shoes. One of the coaches had chatted with me about getting new shoes since my current sneaks I've had for about 6 months and I use them to play flag football.
After work today I decided to swing by Road Runner Bellevue and see what they had. While no professional, I've ran frequently enough in my lifetime to think that I knew exactly what I wanted in a pair of running shoes. Boy was I wrong!
The Method to the Madness
Road Runner specializes in fitting you for the right pair of shoes for your arch, posture, and gait. They call this their Shoe Dog foot analysis program.
They do this all barefoot in their store. I'm OCD so after much heavy persuasion I was able to complete the analysis successfully with ankle socks. First they check your shoe needs- running a half marathon. Check.
Then they measure your balance on some foam blocks that resemble padding you see at a jumping gym. Finally they have you run/walk on a treadmill and some fancy cams take photos and analyze your, pressure, etc. Well my feet roll outwards slightly which is expected from years of dance training; and I have a high arch which I've inherited from my mother (makes wearing heels a bbbrrreeezze!).
What was surprising to the fit experts was my incredibly straight posture both standing and running. She replayed the video and exclaimed that I ran in near perfect parallel lines. I guess not everyone did charm school and had to learn walking/sitting with books on their heads? I then went into some poor jokes and mumblings about posture and back health and my pet peeve for slouchy tall people. Needless to say I probably should have kept my mouth shut because it their glossy looks gave me that "You're not from around here, are you?" attitude.
The next part was shoe fitting. This part took the longest and I was in the store for about two hours. I got suckered into doing custom fitted sole inserts ($70 after I hit the register) and fought the rep on going up half a size for shoes.
Needless to say after 11 pairs of shoes, feeling like I had the largest flippers on, and finally convincing him to give me my regular size in narrow since all their pairs seem to run wide, I was happy! I deflected warnings of toenail damage and them falling off. I was more concerned about getting blisters from having too much space in my shoes! I've ran and danced for hours at a time and I know feet swell, but I mine are still below average.
I landed on a sassy new pair of Saucony Guide 7 running shoes with medium support and stability.
Regardless if they're running sneaks, ballet flats, oxfords, or 4 inch pumps, nearly every girl gets excited when you fall in pair with a new pair of shoes. Now that I'm recovering from the flue I decided it was time to get a new pair of sneaks to break into stride.
Traditionally I have always been a Nike girl when it came to my running shoes. One of the coaches had chatted with me about getting new shoes since my current sneaks I've had for about 6 months and I use them to play flag football.
After work today I decided to swing by Road Runner Bellevue and see what they had. While no professional, I've ran frequently enough in my lifetime to think that I knew exactly what I wanted in a pair of running shoes. Boy was I wrong!
The Method to the Madness
Road Runner specializes in fitting you for the right pair of shoes for your arch, posture, and gait. They call this their Shoe Dog foot analysis program.
They do this all barefoot in their store. I'm OCD so after much heavy persuasion I was able to complete the analysis successfully with ankle socks. First they check your shoe needs- running a half marathon. Check.
Then they measure your balance on some foam blocks that resemble padding you see at a jumping gym. Finally they have you run/walk on a treadmill and some fancy cams take photos and analyze your, pressure, etc. Well my feet roll outwards slightly which is expected from years of dance training; and I have a high arch which I've inherited from my mother (makes wearing heels a bbbrrreeezze!).
What was surprising to the fit experts was my incredibly straight posture both standing and running. She replayed the video and exclaimed that I ran in near perfect parallel lines. I guess not everyone did charm school and had to learn walking/sitting with books on their heads? I then went into some poor jokes and mumblings about posture and back health and my pet peeve for slouchy tall people. Needless to say I probably should have kept my mouth shut because it their glossy looks gave me that "You're not from around here, are you?" attitude.
The next part was shoe fitting. This part took the longest and I was in the store for about two hours. I got suckered into doing custom fitted sole inserts ($70 after I hit the register) and fought the rep on going up half a size for shoes.
Needless to say after 11 pairs of shoes, feeling like I had the largest flippers on, and finally convincing him to give me my regular size in narrow since all their pairs seem to run wide, I was happy! I deflected warnings of toenail damage and them falling off. I was more concerned about getting blisters from having too much space in my shoes! I've ran and danced for hours at a time and I know feet swell, but I mine are still below average.
I landed on a sassy new pair of Saucony Guide 7 running shoes with medium support and stability.
These shoes fit great, had reasonable room for swelling, and I definitely noticed the arch support I wasn't getting from my old sneaks. I look forward to breaking them in during our long distance run at Discovery Park this weekend.
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