The Unfortunate Demise of the Boost.

      Bad news on the new shoe front-- on Friday afternoon I had to swap the shoes out for a different shoe.  I hated to do it, but under the circumstances, I didn't have much choice in the matter.

      After several attempts at "breaking in" the new shoes (and after consulting with Fleet Feet again, as well as several running friends) the shoes I was so excited about, the shoes that I loved with so much, did not love me back unfortunately.  Though they were fine in short distances, the shape of the heel pushed me up onto my toes a bit, and changed the mechanics of my running enough that it caused me pain and cramps about 2 miles in. I didn't notice at first/ short distances, but the longer I ran, the more intense the problem became.

   This is as far as we got-- this is the Hare's GPS app, that's why his shoe and the happy face are tagged.  My experience was much different.  His shoes are great, but the further I went the slower I got, because my calves and ankles simply refused to release.  They got tighter with every step(and the next day I was barely walking)!  By the end of our run, this was the best "happy" face I could muster:

Sexy.  And no, the brace was for the calf pull/ weak knee, not the pain from that run.

    

     The issue was NOT that the Adidas Boost is a bad shoe.  In fact, I think for the right person, these shoes can really make a huge difference in their performance.  The issue was simply that my feet, and the rest of my body were not made for them.  My mechanics are apparently used to a certain type of shoe, and a specific fit, because the shoe I ended up with is similar (not the exact same shoe).  Tilting onto my toes (and not as much cushion on them) was a recipe for disaster, and I found just that.

      In more positive news, the shoes that I have now (Mizuno Elixir 8's) have proven to be the right fit for me.  Today we did a 3.3 mile trail run (so many hills, and on small gravel paths!) and actually did better than we have in a really long while (we both could have gone much further, but we were in a time crunch!).  The Elixirs are just what I was looking for (and coincidentally, my second choice from our shopping trip-- remember this photo of them in the store?):

     So, here's to hoping these will be great new running partners, and that our training can continue on the upswing it has been lately!  Apparently I am a full fledged Mizuno convert (my old Wave Rider 16's are relishing the victory!) now!

Have you ever made a shoe (or gear of any kind) mistake?  What did you do to correct the issue?  Do you run in Mizunos or Adidas? Do you "switch" shoes, or are you a "stick to it if it works" type?  Tell me about it!