bought new shoes a while ago, but didn’t find the right moment to start using them. it’s not so easy to switch shoes, there are switching cost involved, both emotional and rational. the old pair was serving me quite well and a bit of a harder sole just makes you run faster. but the top material gradually disappearing, revealing more and more of my socks to all fellow running buddies and the overall smell that can be mildly described as beyond muddy provided me with the subtle but inevitable indication to do the switch.
this new pair gets me quite excited, i run faster in them at least 10 sec per km, just by looking at them! all the other runners on the cycling pathways between helsinki and espoo will be blended of the bright white rays of light reflections while i swoosh by. actually the model is exactly the same, the adidas response, to be precise the adidas response 16, the current model is no 17, i guess, this is then last year’s model. whatever, the shoe price/value relation was alright, it has all the necessities a decent running shoe needs, good suspension in the back, solid material on the sole, some form of front and back foot division (here the torsion system), it’s not too heavy, looks ok and most important of all enough support and guidance for the foot. good to go for the next 2000 … 3000 or 4000 km. how long does a shoe actually last?
by the way, be aware that buying running shoes is quite an individual thing, you want to know a bit about your foot type, any pronation or other special requirements and you want to try them on. running shoes is an area where most expensive does not go in line with best shoe for you. i got always in trouble with nike shoes, too soft, too little support and guidance for the foot after a while, too much focus on the looks of their products.
and as proof point, we did quite well together today, the new shoes and me. a 3×3km fartlek was on the program today, intended in 11:30min each. they went in 11:20, 11:30 and 11:34min, decent stuff, although the polar footpod still most probably needs to be re-calibrated, one of the rational switching costs. i panted like a locomotive, but a friend who accidentally saw one of the efforts said it looked alight. puh, good, the looks are what matters.
