"Joe, I hate to bother you with this. Got a quick question about running shoes..."
My second favorite phone call of this week.
I have friends that are as active and psychotic as I am in relation to running, biking, triathlon and outdoors. And I have other close friends that are much more realistic and are enjoying life in other ways. At times, the two worlds merge and a friend will get motivated to compete and the flood gates open. I LOVE this process and get so motivated each time I talk to them, expounding on the ins and outs of training, whole life balance and executing on the goal.
Through the years I have gained fitness knowledge from personal experience, secondary research and via friends/racers. I constantly apply this knowledge in my search for how I can best balance my fitness, racing and life. Being able to talk with newcomers about this process is my favorite part of being an Ambassador of Crazy. I do not take this task lightly and feel blessed to have people look to me for advice and guidance. Not entirely altruistic, these conversations are additional fuel I need to continue my quest. After a quick sharing of training thoughts, race experience or shoe advice; I want to get outside and fire off another run or ride. Being able to utilize my best friends as sources for energy and share my passion for fitness with them is another component to keeping my focus and motivation.
I respond, "These phone calls are awesome, I love that you are getting after it. Never stop asking questions and please let me know how I can continue helping."
Currently, I have been passing along a lot of running shoe advice. I have many pairs of kicks that serve different purposes. They have been collected over the years and some have well over 1000 miles on them and I still use them. Running stores don't like me much...
My shoe line up:
Vibram FiveFingers - Training tool that keep my form and build up discreet leg muscles. Weekly Miles 10 to 15.
Inov8 X-Talons 212 - No support, minimal trail runner. Trails only, don't want to wear out the claws. Weekly Miles 12 to 30.
Nike Lunar Elite - Road cushion shoe. Weekly miles 5 to 30.
Nike old school - Flat, no frills shoe. Treadmill running or easy road. Weekly Mile 0 to 15.
Nike Air Pre - Road cushion, no support. Office runners with cushion. Weekly Miles 15 to 50.
Nike Trail Runners - Beefy trail shoes that I use in the city when conditions are bad, with some YakTrax. Weekly Miles 0 to 20.
Puma FAAS 250 - Marathon racing shoes. Cushion, super low profile. Weekly Mile Racing only.
Puma Yugo Run - Cushion, no support. Fast trainers for interval and speed work. Weekly Mile 10-30.
In a given week I will run 7 to 10 times and cycle through each pair, not letting my legs to too used to a single runner. The website runningwarehouse.com is where I purchase most of my shoes now. Great pricing and free shipping and free returns. If you are unsure on sizing, a good buddy taught me to buy 2 sizes and return the one that doesn't fit...
"A lot of people run a race to see who is
fastest. I run to see who has the most guts." -Steve Prefontaine
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