Saturday, March 14, 2009

See Jane. Run.

"It was one of those March nights when winter seems to regain its sway, and flings its last snows and storms with malignant desperation." Tolstoy's War and Peace.

Throughout all my runs this week, I kept thinking of this quotation. It perfectly describes the kind of week Illinois had. Okay, so it didn't snow. But it did rain a bit. And it was friggin cold!

For my Wednesday lunch break run, Weather.com said the temperature was 29, feels like 14. Throughout the run I kept telling myself that it would be the last time for a while that I would run in the cold. Then Thursday came and it wasn't much better. I ran with C and we still had to bundle up, and our breaths still produced little clouds.

But next week should be in the 50s and I am ready for that!

In other news, I need new shoes.

Today we went to a local running store in St. Charles called Dick Ponds. I thought that they would throw me on a treadmill to see how I run but the guy just looked at my running shoes and looked at how I stand on one foot (or tried to stand on one foot).
Surprisingly, I was satisfied with his analysis.
It was like he read my future (good 1/2 marathon time?) by the way I stood. He told me about the problem with my current running shoes; it turns out that they are too flexible for the way I run. Turns out, I have low arches so I need shoes with more support. And my knee pain is probably caused by the poor arch support of my old shoes.

I tried on about 5 different shoes. I won't list every pair but I will give you a brief overview.
I tried on a pair of Nikes that felt like there was a metal bar on my arches. A pair of Brooks felt like there were clamps on my heels.
The Sauconys felt perfect. According to coach C, Sauconys are great running shoes. But, I gawked at the price. They were $93! To some, that is pennies. But to me......"what?!!"
I know that the next pair of running shoes will be my close buddy for the next year. We will run through rain, heat, wind, dog poo, mud, snow, everything. But $93 is a lot to spend on something that I will discard in a few years.
Yet, a part of me really feels that it would be a good investment.

Either way, I know I have to shop around before I buy. C and I went to the Naperville Running Company to comparison shop. As expected, the shoes were more expensive in Naperville. Naperville is just too expensive for its own good!!
I also shopped online and found my shoe for only about 5 dollars cheaper. Once S&H is added, it's gonna cost more. So I will probably get my shoes from Dick's.

Ladies and gents, my next running shoe!







The Women's Saucony ProGrid Omni 7 Ultimate
Its well-ventilated and has good arch support. Knee pain, goodbye!

5 comments:

Kris Hartner said...

Melissa,
Just a quick note - the Omni Moderate would have been $90 for you at Naperville Running Company as long as you are a member of a local health club or running group or charity group (3 Day Walk, etc). We offer a 10% discount to these groups. If you're not a member, shoot me an email and I'll get you added as a preferred customer. Thanks for visiting our store!
Kris Hartner
Owner, Naperville Running Co.

Kris Hartner said...

Sorry, forgot, here's my email address:
kris@runningcompany.com

Anonymous said...

I wish decent running shoes here in Australia were as cheap as $93. Here you are looking to spend between $150 - $200 for a good quality supportive running shoe.

Melissa Hope said...

Well, Riayn, that makes me feel a little better!!

Cyberpenguin said...

Hi Melissa,

Good job making it through the cold & running outside anyways! As my friend Steve says, "You can't race in it if you don't train in it." :) Those type of runs are definitely "character-building." :)

Glad to hear you found the right shoes for your feet/stride. It's so important to run in the right shoes; it can make all the difference to your legs/knees/feet!

I really like all of the photos & comments you put on your blog. It definitely makes people feel like they are part of your running experiences. :)

BTW, thanks for your comment on my blog. I responded. :)

-Corey