All about shoes: My new ones, and how to properly fit yours.

I just completed a 7-mile run and feel fantastic!

Remember how I've been saying I need new shoes? Well, after Thursday's grueling 3-mile run I decided it absolutely had to happen. The fact that I just described a 3-mile run as grueling is a pretty clear indication that something needed to change. Also, as I was walking around our parking lot for a cool down, I must have been wincing in pain (and cursing my shoes, literally) because a guy in his apartment looked down on me and asked if I was alright. I felt a little foolish and thought, "Whitney, you get paid on Friday. You must get new shoes before you go out on a long run this weekend." That my friends, is what I did. During my lunch hour, I took a trip to Marathon Sports in south Minneapolis. This is by far my favorite place to buy running gear. The people are knowledgeable and friendly at the store. They're all trained on how to appropriately fit a running shoe on someone, and they have a lot of good tips. Also, they partner with many races in the area and last but not least, support the MS Society through offering a 30% discount to anyone who is participating in Run to Stop MS (like me) or Challenge Walk MS. Sweet deal! My normally $140 running shoes were only $98! That's pretty good. I'll take a $42 discount any day. Going to get the new shoes lead me to being the prime candidate to go pick up and drop off some materials at PostNet for work which then lead me to getting to have Punch Pizza for lunch. Let's just say the shoes and pizza made Friday a good day.

This weekend I had a 7-mile run in my training schedule. The perfect distance is around Lake Calhoun, then to Lake Harriet around that, and back. Today was the best I've felt running in a really long time. I had a small amount of pain in my legs when I started but after a couple of minutes it was gone. Thank you new shoes! Just look how happy my feet were upon returning home after the run:

In honor of my new shoes, I shall give you some tips for getting yourself some good running shoes. There are a lot of things to consider so pay attention.

Thanks to a new-ish book called "Born to Run" the running world has been taken by storm by a movement called, "minimalist running" or "natural running" or even "barefoot running." Sound pretty hippy-like to you? Yeah, it kind of is. The premise of the book is that there's a tribe in Mexico, way up in the mountains, whose members run daily. They run to get from place to place and to follow food and whatnot. They literally can run over a hundred miles a day. But the key is, they don't wear shoes. If they do, they wear huarache-type sandals. How do they get so many miles out of their legs without wearing shoes? Well, running barefoot changes how your foot hits the ground. You naturally land on your midsole or forefoot, which absorbs shock a little differently. Now, Born to Run and many of the minimalist running promoters claim that being barefoot is the key to the tribes ability to run far and wide. Well, I have been a little skeptical of this. Let's keep in mind that most of us don't live in the mountainous region of Mexico. I personally live in Minneapolis. A city. With lots and lots of pavement. My opinion is that the key to their running is not the fact that they are barefoot, but the fact that they are running on dirt. Dirt is significantly softer than concrete or asphalt pavement. This is why there is always a little path in the grass next to the running trails in Minneapolis. People follow the trails but run in the grass/dirt. It just doesn't seem like a viable long-term solution to me. Now, if I were to be running on grass or dirt all the time, including during the marathon, I might buy a pair of gorilla shoes. That's what I like to call the Vibram Five Finger shoes. Click on the link and you'll understand why. I brought this up to the guy who was assisting me at Marathon Sports and he actually confirmed what I'd said. He said, "If you want to use a minimalist shoe every once in a while, it's probably fine. But if you are running multiple days a week and want to get 30 years out of your legs, you should probably stick with a good running shoe that fits properly." I can get on board with that, especially since I run in a city, with sidewalks and roads, that also happens to be cold 6 months out of the year. Here's a good article from the Huffington Post, written by a doctor, to support my general thesis.

So, what does a properly fitting running shoe look like?

Well, first a person needs to determine the type of foot they have. Basically a person falls into one of three categories or somewhere between: someone with high arches (supinator), someone with low arches or flatter feet (pronator), or someone with neutral arches. The type of foot you have determines what happens to your foot when it hits the ground while walking or running without shoes on. My feet have neutral to low arches. My feet pronate, or turn in/flatten out when I go from heel strike to toe off. Thusly, I wear shoes that have support in the midsole area to prevent that. If you look at the picture of my new shoes, you'll notice that that area of the sole of my shoe is gray. That's the firmer foam giving me more support. The bottom of my shoe also has a plastic piece that runs across the foot at about the midsole. This offers more support. For someone who pronates even more than I do, the plastic piece tends to be larger and the firmer foam covers more area. For someone who has high arches and supinates, there is no piece of plastic and no foam support. The shoe will easily twist if you held it in your hands and twisted it. This allows the high arched person to collapse a bit on their midfoot as they run/walk.

Secondly, you'll want to find a pair of shoes that fit the width and length of your foot. This is especially important in what is called the "footbed" of the shoe. It's the area between the laces and the toe of your foot. If this area is too snug, you could end up with some nasty blisters and other painful foot problems. The rest of the shoe can typically be adjusted by the laces, especially if you are lacing them correctly. I'll talk about that at the end. For length, you'll typically want a half to a full size larger than you wear for dress shoes.

The last thing to look for in a shoe is how long a shoe will last. You should be able to get 300-500 miles out of a pair of shoes. There is a large window because it depends on your running style, your weight and a couple of other factors. For example heavier people will need to replace shoes more quickly. Also, if you use your shoes for anything other than running (which I DO NOT RECOMMEND) you'll need to buy new shoes sooner. So, which shoes last the longest? Well, it's a little tough because since people require different types of shoes, different brands work differently for different people. I for one cannot stand how Brooks feel on my feet, but Erich loves them. I also have a friend who only buys Nike running shoes. They work for her I wouldn't touch a pair of Nikes with a ten foot pole. I personally think they're cheaply made (probably due to those sweat shops) and don't offer nearly enough support and thusly, don't last very long. Common brands of running shoes are:

Nike (Katie's favorite)
Mizuno (my sister's favorite)
Brooks (Erich's favorite)
Addidas (My boss' favorite)
Asics (Mine and a lot of other runners favorite)
New Balance
Saucony (Many peoples I know favorite)

Last time I bought shoes, I almost bought a pair of Sauconys. But, since I knew the Asics Gel Kayano worked, I figured I would't mess with it. My recommendation is to try many brands to see which works for you. When you find a pair, stick with it.

This brings me to my last point. Buy your shoes at a store that is specifically focused on running/walking gear! If my brother's girlfriend is reading this, she might be a little annoyed because she works for Foot Locker. Well, sorry Victoria, I'm not a Foot Locker fan. This goes for Journey's, The Finish Line and department stores as well. I say this because the people at these stores typically do not know how to properly fit a foot. All they want is to make a sale and they'll let you pick the shoe based on the size, how it looks and how it feels when you do a lap around their store. Any new shoe will feel good at that point. Someone from a specialty store will analyze your foot and gait and point you in the right direction for shoes. If you have a pair of running shoes that you are replacing, bring those to the store as well. The specialist will be able to look at the wear pattern on the bottom and tell you if they worked correctly for you or not. Although, if they didn't, your body will tell you as well. I will say that once you find a shoe that works for you and you find it cheaper at one of the above mentioned stores or online, feel free to buy it there, but only if you've been properly fitted elsewhere. Be sure to get re-fitted every once in a while just to be sure your feet haven't changed, which they can with age and depending on your profession and what other types of shoes you wear.

Big Important Note: If your shoes fit correctly, you will not need to break them in! You can head straight out for a run in them.

Once you get your shoes home you'll want to be sure you've laced them correctly. You might think to yourself, "Don't I just lace them up like normal, tie and be on my way?" Well yes and no. Yes you mostly lace them up at normal, but when you get to the end of lacing, you'll notice there's one last hole that's always set back a little far and if you lace into it you tend to cut off circulation from your foot. Well that is because you're not lacing correctly. Here are my steps to lacing:

1. Lace your shoes as you normally would, stopping with the hole just before the very last one.
2. Take the lace on the right side and put it through the very last hole on the right side. Yes, the same side. You should put it from the top down. Don't come up from the bottom. This should form a nice little loop.
3. Repeat with the left side.
4. Then, take the laces and put them through the loops on opposite sides. Right lace into left loop, left lace into right loop
5. Tighten shoes to be comfortable and supportive, then tie. I always double knot. When you tie, the loops you created shouldn't quite touch or overlap.

When done, your shoes should look like this:

When tied on your foot, it will look like this:

Now you are armed with everything you need to get properly fitted shoes. I assure you, it will be well worth the time and money if you are planning on doing a lot of running. In my area, the upcoming week looks to be quite beautiful. A little warm but beautiful. Happy trails!