Let's Talk About Shoes

Running shoes that is. I might have a slight shoe purchasing problem.

Up until a year and a half ago, I was very brand loyal to Mizuno. Old Mizunos:

The problem was that when I was training for my first half marathon, I started getting pain pretty much up and down my legs, knees, etc. I started to get this problem when my shoes would hit about 200 miles on them. So basically, it was the breaking down of the cushioning in the shoe that was causing me discomfort.

I went to a speciality running store near my old apartment and wanted to get fitted for new shoes. I told the salesperson my issue, that I was only getting 200 miles out of my shoe and I was looking for something more durable (because let's face it, running shoes aren't cheap, especially if you have to buy them every 3 months). After doing a gait analysis on me, the salesguy told me that I overpronated and that I needed a stability shoe and that was my problem. Well ok, let's get me some of those stability shoes then! Insert new Asics:

The very first time I ran more than a few miles in them, I could feel them rubbing the arches of my feet. I ended up with the biggest blisters I ever had in my life. Not only that, but they also rubbed the back of my heel. I regretted not sticking with old faithful. So chocking the Asics up as a loss, I started using them as cross training shoes only and went out and bought another pair of Mizunos:

For whatever reason, the sizing in these was severely off (I have always worn the same size Mizunos so did not bother trying these on) and they turned out to be too small for me, which I discovered after running in them and getting pain in my squished toes. So these too, became cross training shoes only.

That is percisely when I decided to try something completely different. Why not just purchase the next size up in the Mizunos you ask? Vanity. The same reason women who are a size 10 squeeze into a size 8. I can't deal with the thought that my feet have grown.

So I went to Dick's Sporting Goods and tried on about 100 different pairs of shoes and finally settled on these:

Friends, I am a convert. Why I had never tried Brooks in the first place, I will never know. I am currently training for my second half marathon and have had absolutely ZERO problems with these (knock on wood). Not a blister, no knee pain, nothing.

What sneakers do you run or workout in? Are you brand loyal?