I admit, I have a lot of shoes. I like shoes. Currently, I have 3 pairs of running shoes in the rotation. A pair of Nike Air Pegasus that I *know* I should no longer be wearing (they squeak with each step), a pair of Brooks Defyance (narrow width to attempt to accommodate my oddly shaped feet), and a pair of K-Swiss Blade Light Run that gather stones like it's their job and appear to be wearing out at an alarming rate.
I got the Nikes because I've always worn Nikes and they were on sale. The Brooks were a result of a visit to a running store with a treadmill test and questions and assessments of my running style (flaws) etc. The K-Swiss I got when I went into the running store and said I needed a lightweight, neutral trainer for my next marathon. I also went over the shoes I was already wearing and their deficiencies. It's a totally different experience to get shoes when I am depending on my own assessment rather than someone else's assessment of me. Not sure if it's better, but:
The breakdown of these shoes in practical terms is:
a) Nike = knees hurt
b) Brooks = blister on little toe
c) K-Swiss = stress on muscles because joints and toes aren't hurting and I'm therefore most likely overtraining.
I will need another pair of something before October 30 when marathon number 2 is attempted. Based on the above, I think I'll stick with c. My first run with them went something like this: knees don't hurt, toes don't hurt, knees don't hurt, toes don't hurt...
