This post was written for and first appeared on One Foot In Reality.
Every year about this time, it is time to take a look at all the running shoes I have laying around the house, squirreled away out back of the garage, in the back of the truck or wherever else I have hidden away any running shoes, that are not currently in my rotation.
Then decide what to do with them.
- Keep them in storage,
- Use them for lawn shoes
- Give them away/get rid of them
Today was a bit different though, in addition to the old shoes, which I will go over in a different post...I also decided to get rid of, well return my most recent purchases and move in a different direction.
What in the hell are you talking about Harold?
Unfortunately, the two pair of new Under Armour shoes did not work for the way that I run. As part of that honesty about why I stop running in pair of running shoes, here are the real reasons that I returned them.
Under Armour Bandit 2.
I like the ride a lot and they have many positive attributes that I talked about in their 50 mile review. Unfortunately, the more I have broken them in, the one thing that I was concerned about became something that I could not deal with any longer.
With the curved last and stretchy upper (which I initially loved), the forefoot (for me) feels as though the side of my foot feels like it is going over the side of the shoe when I land on the side of my foot when running "at speed" or turning. As long as I land heel-first and ran mostly straight ahead there was no problem.
There were a couple of other minor things that were pain in the arse stuff, but stuff that I could put up with - the tongue is finicky and you have to frig around with it to get it just right and on new tar the Bandit 2's were a bit slippery.
The salespeople at Olympia Sports in Waterville were great about the return and while they did not work for me, I still think the Bandit 2's are a nice running shoe, just not for me and how I run.
Under Armour Apollo 2.
This was a pair of running shoes that I loved right out of the box and had high hopes for. Unfortunately, after a few runs, I noticed that when I ran/walked in these shoes, my left Plantar Fascia was beginning to let me know something wasn't right.
Over the years, I have had 3 pair of running shoes before the Apollo 2's that had this kind of problem and when it happens, it only gets worse. I didn't want to add PF problems to my already compromised left leg, so they were put a return box and were mailed back to Under Armour this morning.
Which really sucked, this was a pair of running shoes that I really wanted to work well for me, but the PF issues made them a no-go.
The reality is that
Returning the Bandit 2's and Apollo 2's was a difficult decision, because I did like an awful lot about both pair, but they each had a fatal flaw that made them shoes that were not going to work for me.
Which doesn't leave me with much to choose from in my running shoe rotation.
- N1 Trail v1's - lower drop that bothers my left leg, but I don't want to get rid of them.
- N1 Road v2's - lower drop that bothers my left leg, but I don't want to get rid of them.
- Nike Lunar Glide 7's - due to the durability issues on the front of the outsole, they have become my primary work shoes and I really am not all that amped to start running in them again.
- Asics Hyperspeed 6's - I have them setup to be my treadmill shoes for now, but I stopped running in them last fall for a reason and I am not sure how they will do - they may end up on the give-away pile too (sooner rather than later).
So I have been sort of looking around to see what I should be running in now.
It seems as though everything is pointing toward Mizuno, but I don't want to invest over a $100 bucks for yet another pair of running shoes, so I decided to go with last year's model and finally settled on ordering the Inspire 11's. They should be here tomorrow night.
So the journey continues.
Yes, I also put a bunch of shoes on the back table that will end up heading off to Goodwill, unless someone needs a pair of 8.5's -- some damn near new as a result of the rest of the purging...more on that tomorrow.
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