Shoes!

Recently, a young and successful friend of mine commented that she may need new shoes but lamented the expense and the amount of research necessary.  A salesperson at a store quickly told her as he ran to help another customer, “you can’t use runners for training and trainers for running.”  So now she needs two pairs of shoes?!?! Coincidentally one of my clients was commenting on shoes and I also have deemed my pair purchased in the summer as almost dead.  So it inspired me to do a bit of research, and recap some of the things I have found.

1-First, the best thing I ever did was visit Advanced Mobility Orthopaedics.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Advanced-Mobility-Ortho-Ltd
http://www.advancedmobilityortho.com/
I cannot say enough good things about this.  My foot had some structural issues that have always made running and walking painful, but having it my entire life, I just stopped noticing it.  After getting some inserts for my shoes, I do 10k no problem.  If you have tried running and your feet hurt at all… might be a good idea to get an assessment.

2- How many freakin shoes do you want me to buy?  Well, a turn out there is reasoning behind buying different types of athletic shoes.  There are trainers, walking shoes, running shoes and sport specific shoes.  At up to $200 bucks a pop, buy a handful and you wont be able to pay me for personal training!  Well we don’t want that to happen!  So just buy what you need.

Bottom line:
Shoes called “Trainers,” flexible mutli-purpose shoes you can use for various activities.  Compromise for buying multiple sport specific shoes.  If you are not a performance athlete, just want to go for walks, mess around on a court for a little bit, maybe take a zumba class.

Running shoes.  Can’t I just by trainers?  Well if you are going to be running a good deal, for more than 15 min and running outside, you should get a pair of runners too.  The big difference, cushioning and impact reduction.  Running creates a lot of impact and if you want to prevent injury (strike that YOU WANT TO PREVENT INJURY), get a decent pair of running shoes.

Also, on the bright side, if you have a pair of trainers and a pair of runners, they will both last longer if you use them for the specific tasks.

3- Just because the soles are good, does not mean the shoe is still good.  In fact, the sole is the last thing to go.  Don’t hang on to a shoe because the bottom part looks good.  Inside is what counts.

4-Your shoe size changes.  I always thought your shoe sized stayed the same when you became an adult but it is not true.  I used to be an 11 and now I am a 12 (I don’t have to buy skis at least).  I guess I have heard that some women like to cram their foot into a small shoe for some reason… I don’t get that, as I guy, I never even thought about a woman’s shoe size.  So get over it, get your foot measured and by a freaking shoe that fits.  Also, shop for your shoes at the end of the day when your foot swells from the day.

5-Not rich?  What to buy?  Shop for type of shoe not brand.  You can get a decent cheap shoe.  If you had to choose between a cheap comfortable new shoe and wearing your old warn out ones until you can afford expensive ones, just get some new shoes.  The old ones are more likely to injure you.  You should not have to “break in” athletic shoes.  Also, don’t get sucked in by the hype.  The most expensive shoes are mostly there to make the mid-priced shoes look cheaper.

Links on the bottom are helpful in making your decisions.  If you don’t have time to look at any of them, just look at the consumer reports article.  Last page has the best quick tips.


Lots more to talk about I am sure, this is just my humble opinion.  Public discussion and feedback welcome.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/athletic-shoes/buying-guide.htm

http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/shoes/choosing-a-shoe-the-very-basics/481.html


http://sportsmedicine.about.com/cs/beforeyoubuy/a/aabyb_shoes.htm

shoes falling out of my closet.