Newtons

I got a pair of Newton Energy shoes for pacing the Tobacco Road Half Marathon. I was pretty excited about this because I've always wanted to try a pair of Newton shoes, but have always managed to talk myself out of them in favor of a more traditional training shoe. For those of you who might be unfamiliar with Newton shoes, they basically have these toe-shaped protrusions on the bottom of them. The point of these "lugs" is to get you to run more mid- to forefoot. They also lowered the heel and widened the toebox a bit to further encourage this.

Needless to say, Newtons definitely are not normal running shoes, but most of the people who run in them seem to love them. The Newton Energy is their "transition into Newton" shoes, so I was kind of in luck. In case you haven't figured this out, I'm a bit hesitant to jump on new "trends". In lieu of a 10-year study, I have to understand the why this "new" thing will be better than the "old" thing.

Anyways, when I brought my new shoes home from the expo back in March, I put them on and jogged around the kitchen. This is my usual shoe decision process... 10sec of jogging in place and yay or nay. Real technical. But, I have done this since high school, and while I've certainly had some shoes that I liked better than others, I have never not been able to run in the shoes I decided on. I guess I've been lucky. That, and I'm not super picky. Or real observant. I don't usually notice the shoes on my feet after 1/4-mile. Or if the band of my shorts is all folded over weird. Or if my sports bra strap is twisted. Or if I'm wearing like 8 different shades of neon.

So, it is unusual for me not to wear new shoes on the next shorterish run that I do. However, being that Newtons are a little different, I decided to wait until after Boston to try anything new. Sounds normal, right? Well, it has been a long time since Boston. I've come to realize that I'm actually afraid of these shoes. I know. That is absurd. They're shoes. But, I literally banished them to the guest room closet. I didn't even put them with my other running shoes. Like they were going to eat the heels out of them or something. I'm not even kidding. I've pulled them out a few times, thought about how nice the color combination was, and put them back.

Why?

I think I read too much about shoes. I love learning about the new technology, how this update is different from the last, etc. However, this means I also know how they are different too, and everyone's opinion as to whether those differences are revolutionary or injurious. Instead of just putting on shoes, it's more of an analysis of 4 vs 8 vs 12mm? "responsive" or soft cushioning? lightweight or heavy? foam or gel? neutral or stability? Agh! I need to run a blind study. Or, I guess technically double-blind because I'm the person running the study, as well as the study subject (which is why I suppose that you should never design an actual study that way).

Anyways, I took my Newtons out of the corner on Friday. And, my feet didn't fall off. Nothing catastrophic happened for the 4-miles I ran in them. Granted, it wasn't that long of a run, or that fast of a run, and I probably won't do either in those shoes. But, for all it's worth, I survived.

I have been thinking more about my "shoe philosophy" lately (and why I even have one). So, when I figure it out, I'll let you know.