Mama Needs a New Pair of Shoes!

First things first - 161.4 at weigh in this morning!

My reward for two weeks of self-discipline!

Meet my new running shoes:

Asics Kayano 16

I was super excited for a professional fitting, so I talked B. into going with me after work on Friday evening (with the promise of dinner my treat anywhere he wanted to go). He had to take a colleague to the airport after work, so it was about 6:30 before he came home, and I was ready to go when he got here. I wasn't sure what to wear...I knew I'd have to run in the shoes, so I went with yoga pants and my new Nike long-sleeve thermal running shirt. Turned out I could have worn just about anything, but now I know.

Fleet Feet was only scheduled to be open until 8 p.m., and when we got there at about 7:00, all three employees were with other people. I was super nervous they wouldn't have time to get to me before close. But the manager was just about to wrap up his sale, so while I waited, I looked over the shoes on display wondering what I was going to get.

The actual fitting was an eye-opening experience. He measured my feet sitting and standing and evaluated my arches, which are medium-high when sitting but flatten a little when standing. My old shoes were too big (10s). He measured me at 9.5. Since the wear pattern on my old shoes was pretty much mid-foot, we started with a pair of Asics neutral shoes with arch support inserts. They felt like a dream. I went out front of the store to demonstrate my run. I was oddly nervous about this--I always wonder if do anything weird when I run. Anyway, he told me I run pretty neutral with just a slight outward roll. So next, he put me in a pair of Saucony stability shoes with the same inserts. I didn't feel nearly as comfortable in these. They seemed way more narrow through the front of my foot. But, the manager told me they had corrected my pronation issues. So, he bought out another pair of stability shoes, Asics this time. These felt like the best of both worlds: They were comfy in all the right spots, but I could definitely feel the support in the mid-foot/heel area. I was a little disappointed that there weren't any color options. I had B. look online while I was testing them out, and even online blue/grey was the only other option. So, I went with the pink/white ones available in the store.

The best part? I have 60 days to try them out, and if for any reason I have issues, I can come back in and exchange them. He also told me that if I start to experience any new aches and pains while I have them to come in and they can see if there's just a small tweak needed to make them feel better. I had lots of initial issues with the NB 805's that I chalked up to being heavy and out of shape that may have been because the shoe didn't offer the best support.

I would definitely recommend Fleet Feet if you need shoes. They spent TONS of time with me, even though it was definitely after closing by the time I went to the register. No one was in a rush to get me in a pair of shoes and out the door. I also did a little research online after the fact, and I definitely got an equitable price...Things there were no more expensive than on the Internet. I'll definitely be going back in the future!

It's kinda rainy and gross this morning, but I'm hoping to take the Asics out on a little test run in a little while.

One last thought: what does one do with their old running shoes? My first thought was donation, but it seems rude to think that anyone, no matter how poor, would want my stinky, beat-up old kicks. Right? Can they be recycled?