Third Time's a Charm (hopefully!)

I remember when I first started running and told my husband I needed some good running shoes...that would cost around $100...and I would need to replace them every so many miles. That was an entertaining conversation. :) My husband is quite frugal which I typically love but it doesn't hurt to splurge once in a while, right?? Plus I count running shoes as a "need."

I typically wore whatever I could find that was on sale. My first year of running I ran in some Adidas shoes until they were literally flat on the bottom. I was running 3-4 times/week but rarely over 4 miles. I ran my first 10k that year, but I don't think I realized that my feet didn't have to hurt like they did. I just thought if you ran, your feet would hurt. Then I had Jake and started taking running a little more seriously. After signing up for my first half marathon I knew I needed new shoes. "Santa" (a.k.a. my hubby) got me new shoes for Christmas last year. I was so excited! We went to a local running store to find a pair that would work for me. I learned that I over pronate (I didn't even know what that was). They gave me a pair of Asics. They were so squishy and comfy...I loved them at first. My first run in them was just 3 miles, and they felt wonderful. On my second run I felt blisters coming on at mile 3. By the end of the run my poor feet were killing me. I brought them back to the store and the lady said, "Why did they give you those shoes?" Ummm, I'm not sure. She exchanged them for some Brooks. They weren't near as comfy as those glorious Asics, but they were right for me. I ran my first, second and third half marathon in them. When I started training for my marathon and my mileage increased, the sore feet and bruised toes started. I had to get new shoes.

For my anniversary this year (October) I received a romantic gift of new shoes!! Phil felt bad to give me shoes, but I assured him that's what I wanted. I went to a different shoe store in town. Long story short, I got shoes that gave me blisters, tried inserts which gave me more blisters, and then got another pair of shoes that left me in pain from just walking around the house in them. I decided it was time I did my own research.

As usual, I learned from other bloggers about what works for them. Becky wrote about how she pronates but the shoes she had were over correcting the issue. Caitlin had a guest post from someone who works at a running store that was very helpful. Then I started googling "stability", "motion control", "over pronating" and chose some shoes to try on. So, here I am on my third pair of shoes in a month. I'm crossing my fingers that these work for me!

Am I the only one who has so many feet/shoe issues?