New Shoes

For the last six months, I’ve been huffing about on roads and trails in Merrill Foot Gloves, which are also known as awesome barefoot running shoes. That means that they have absolutely no spring or other hoity toity cushioning for your feet and allow your feet to act as though you strapped gladiator sandals on and started running down the Via Appia. I’ve loved the feeling of myself becoming one with the elements, as well as the feeling that it’s my resolve moving me forward, no footgear spring action.

I have run every casual jog, every race, every everything in these shoes. They’ve been fantastic and have imbued a sense of wonder in me – both for running and for my body’s ability to perform.

Unfortunately, they’re a bit too breathable for inclement weather and they offer no added insulation from the cold. While this works well in the summer and early autumn, rain, puddles, snow and sleet seeping into footwear can quickly become frostbite. When the mercury plunges below 40 degrees, I look for any added insulation from the cold.

My quest for “regular” running shoes began in earnest the week following Thanksgiving, when morning temps routinely hit 35 and below. My tootsies were chilly.

My approach was pretty methodical in my free time. First I asked runners I knew online. No one had much information about why they chose Nike, New Balance, Asics or others, they’d simply used them forever and they liked them.  One experienced runner suggested I visit Westchester Road Runner (WRR) in White Plains to get fitted. That seemed like a great idea, so I googled them and started to read Runners World and other website for suggested shoes and reviews. That was like falling through the rabbit hole.

I’d honestly had never heard of certain shoe companies before, nor did I know whether my feet are pronated, whether I have a high arch, where my foot strikes and so many other questions.

So I carved out some time and drove my butt to WRR to figure it all out, because I needed to figure out the new shoes soon – at least so that the request could go on my Christmas wish list. ;)

The folks at WRR were awesome. Turns out I have white average runner feet. My feet are normal in that they neither pronate (roll out significantly and pushing off with one’s little toes) nor overpronate (roll inward significantly and pushing off with one’s big toes); I use all my toes to push off and my foot is generally squared to the ground when it hits. I also have average arches, with neither a wide nor narrow foot. Finally, I seem to have developed the coveted mid-foot strike, which means that I neither hit the ground initially with my heal nor toes, but my foot pad and just behind. That’s evidently the most efficient and safest stride for one’s body. It doesn’t have me running as quickly as some heel strike friends, but it should lower my injuries over the long run.  

Most running shoes are presently built to target and correct for one or more of the issues listed in the preceding paragraph. Entire companies have built up around one specific aspect of a bad foot or foot fall. It was a little of a letdown for me to realize, sitting in the middle of an amazing footgear emporium that most of them were unnecessary. No wonder the Merrells worked so well for me!

The next step was to strap on some shoes and try them out. Unlike trying on Louboutins, where standing still can be the sole purpose, these shoes are meant to be taken for a spin.

I pretty much spent the next couple of hours jogging up, down and around with different shoes (and different generations of them) on each foot, slowly narrowing down the pack until finally deciding that Nike Vomeros+6 are the shoes for me for now.  They are gender specific in their construction, which rocks. They’re light with responsive cushioning. I love how flexible they are. And, coming from a barefoot running background, I adore the wide toe box. I feel like I’m running barefoot on a cloud.

So they did go on my Christmas list, and Santa was nice enough to deliver them to me. Today was my first spin in them with some friends on some local mountain dirt roads. They were deceptively fabulous. I felt stronger out of the gate, but it lulled me into a place of jabbering for the first mile at a crisp pace while chugging up the side of a mountain. Silly me. The rest of the run was much slower for me, because I’d over extended with the chatting. I’m hoping to be quieter my next time out, allowing myself to assess the shoes more. But if today is any indication, it’s the beginning of an enchanting relationship.