My First (Running Shoe) Love....

I never thought I would fall in love.....with a running shoe. Desserts? Yes. Clothes? Yes. But I always viewed running shoes as something that just protected my feet and were never quite right. When I first started running I grabbed whatever shoes I had in my closet which if I recall were probably about 10 years old and had no tread left on them. I didn't buy my first pair of running specific shoes until right before my first 5k (which to anyone reading this, never use new shoes before a race. NEVER. EVER.) However, after I broke them in properly I noticed a slow shift in how my feet and legs felt (slightly less than “There about to fall off”) I tried a few different brands and have bought shoes that I only wanted because I liked the color or thought a certain brand was better than another. Full disclosure I have SUPER flat feet and have mostly worn flip flops my entire life unless I was forced to for school so sneakers were always bought based purely on how they look not how they feel (que the flash back to those skater shoes everyone wore in the 90's regardless if they skated or not)

(If you aren't a 90's kid then I'm sorry you never got to experience the true awesomeness of not lacing these up and then falling flat on your face when they inevitably slipped off and you tripped in epic fashion)

After reading a million reviews/articles online and making my head spin I took of shot of tequila, threw out everything I looked at and headed to my local running store. If you have a local running store I encourage you to go to them vs shopping online until you know what you like/need. Aside from supporting local business it also is a huge advantage to be able to talk to someone, have them watch you walk/ran and someone who has the knowledge of what could be a good fit for you. Have you noticed yet I love a good pun?? ;) Even after countless pairs I just figured I would never actually fall in love with a running shoe and they all would be close but I’d always wish for a small tweak—- Until I found the Mizuno Waveknit. I want to be sure that I point out THIS IS NOT AN AD, I genuinely just love these and want your feet to be deeply madly in love with what you put on them. The knitted shoe allows for my foot to move more freely I feel and isn't consistently hitting the rubber portion of the top of the shoe (or the upper as its called) and doesn’t create a new point of friction to bother you during long miles. Also, I feel like the wear and tear on the shoe isn't as noticeable because the knit version doesn't get warped like other versions---just meaning the shoe doesn't get as disformed like most conventional shoes.

(These bad boys carried my through my half marathon and even though their at the end of their running life and becoming my cross training shoes I think I'll be a sentimental fool and keep them forever---that's normal, right?) I started wearing my current pair of shoes in September 2019 towards the middle of my half marathon training cycle and countless miles after that. They've held up well and are just now getting to the point where I'm going to have to convert them into the second portion of their life as walking/biking shoes. A good rule of thumb I learned in the beginning of my running life was to only run in your running shoes. Try not to use them for other activities because it can have an adverse effect on how they will wear down. This actually will extend the life of your shoes which in turn saves money since we all know that a good shoe isn't cheap. If you haven't tried knitted shoes while running yet I'm telling you to run and order some now. The current version pictured with this post are no longer available from what I can tell but I included the link HERE to the new version the released a bit ago. I was lucky enough to win a free pair through an Instagram giveaway but haven't broken them out yet---thinking that will be when I gear up for my marathon training cycle. All in all I don't think I will ever go back to a non-knitted shoe even for normal everyday wear (when I'm not in my flip flops that is)