Time for New Running Shoes?

Have you ever bought your running shoes online before?  I have and I do because it is so easy to save a considerable amount of money on my shoes.  So for any of you newbies to online shopping or online running shoe shopping I thought that this time around I would share the experience with you.

First things determined – it’s time for new running shoes.  I am feeling a bit ripped off on my current New Balance 851′s as I only bought them last September and they blew an air pocket a couple of months ago.  Since I had already ran in them for 3 months, I didn’t do much about it.  Nonetheless, I feel disgruntled that they broke down on me.  I love the 851′s as I mentioned once or twice in my New Balance 851 review and I’ve had many pairs of 851′s, so I am just going to accept that I had a one off pair of lemons.

Needless to say, with my current flat tire, it is time to move on.  I have worn many models of New Balance shoes for almost 10 years now and I have been dying to break the mold and try a different brand, but since I’ve always had success with NB, I was afraid of change.  This incident gave me the push I needed.  Not knowing which brand to try, I read some reviews online and I took note of the Runner’s World Editor’s Choices.  Armed with this information, I headed off to a running store to try out a few pairs of runners to see what they felt like on my feet.  This is a mandatory step especially if you are going to try a brand new model, although I’m not particularly proud about wasting a salesperson’s time as I had no intention of buying my shoes from this store.  But the salesclerk was bored so we had a few laughs while we discussed current trends in running shoes.

After checking my gait (I’m a mild pronator), and with the information that I gave her, she suggested that I try 3 different brands/pairs of running shoes.  The Pearl Izumi Syncro Float, Asics Gel Kayano II and the Saucony Hurricane Grid 7.  I wanted to try the Hurricane Grid 8, but they never had them in yet.

All three pairs felt very different but very wonderful.  The Pearl Izumi Syncro Floats fit like a glove.  When taken for a short run, they seemed to add propulsion to my run.  In comparison to the other two, they were quite a bit heavier.  I also felt a mild ridge under the ball of my foot, which I know in time would drive me nuts.  So, it was between the Asics and the Saucony’s and it was a hard choice.  My reasons for chosing the Hurricane Grid 7′s were:

1.  They had a wonderful spacious forefoot.  I tend to get pressure points on my feet, so I really prefer something with a bit of space to move and the Hurricane’s provided this.

2.  I was advised that they were a high mileage runner.  As I put alot of miles in, this is a feature that I look for.

3.  They were quite a bit cheaper than the Asics.  When comparing apples with apples, and I did feel that the two shoes were equivalent, then it comes down to the price.

My next step was to go online to research.  Since I am familiar with and enjoy shopping from both Roadrunner Sports and Zappo’s, I checked them both out for prices.  Zappo’s came out ahead by about $15 (and approximately $50 cheaper than the running store), not to mention, they also have free shipping, which is a bonus.  So this morning I ordered my Saucony 3D Hurricane Grid 7′s from Zappo’s.  I expect them to arrive in about 5 days, so stay tuned, after I get to take them for a good test drive, I will provide you all with a review my new running shoes.

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