New Shoes

Lance and I actually got ourselves some proper running shoes over the weekend. My shoes were long overdue for a replacement. My new shoes are Ryka km6 running shoes. I'm sure it'll take a while for me to get used to the new shoes, but here's what I've found so far.

Support - As in, they've got some. They have a defined arch to them and lots of firmness underneath the inside of my foot. It's a bit weird to get used to and so far I've been compensating by pushing/rolling my foot out ever so slightly. I'm hoping that once the inside of the shoe molds a bit to my foot shape, this won't be much of an issue. I'm also guessing that my foot will adapt to the different amount of padding offered.

Heel - The shoe was constructed to be narrower in the heel and wider at the balls of the feet. One thing I've noticed already is that the narrower heel conforms to the shape of my foot much better. The heel of my foot rises because of the lift of the heel instead of the pull on the front of the shoe (gosh I hope that makes sense to at least one other person).

Laces - This may sound very superficial to some, but my previous pairs of runners all had really long laces. Like I'd tie them and double knot them and they'd still sometimes get underfoot - very annoying and potentially dangerous! These laces are much shorter. I can still double knot to keep them securely tied up, but no more flapping around and worrying about tripping!

Shock Absorption - Now, I'd never really *noticed* much impact when running on the treadmill in my other shoes. For the last month or so, the old shoes were really getting bad and I did notice a bit of joint ache after a run. I adapted my stride to minimize it though. These shoes, have much more shock absorption in them. I don't think the joint ache will be a problem (and when it does become a problem, it'll be time to buy new shoes again). The one thing this extra padding inadvertenly affects is the silhouette of the shoe. The heel part is much thicker than the old ones (though not heavier). This first run it felt like my stride was a bit off because I'm not used to where my shoe hits during my stride. I'm sure I'll adapt to this pretty quickly.

Chaffing - None of this so far. This wasn't a problem with the old shoes unless I was sweating a lot and my feet were very wet. However, I think that's something some nice running socks could probably deal with as well. For now though, blisters and chaffing are not a problem at all.