Ooh, what’s inside?

The celebratory shout to the heavens of “NEW SHOES” is uttered far more often by the ladies as opposed to the gents. And having seen the closets of several girlfriends throughout my adult life, it has shown me that you ladies do indeed love you some shoes… a whole lot of ’em. One might even go so far as to say an “excessive” amount of shoes.

I know I’m sailing into dangerous waters here.

As for me, while I do enjoy a nice pair of shoes, I would happily live my entire life in a pair of comfy sneakers or canvas shoes. They really aren’t a big deal to me at all.

With one notable exception: my running shoes.

Holy Shnikes! Do I obsess over running shoes.

As most runners know, running shoes (like the tires on your car) wear out as the mileage adds up and it’s inadvisable to run in worn out shoes.

Here’s a good post talking about when to retire shoes.

NOTE: I know some people buy two pairs and alternate them each day to extend the life of the shoes, which I hear is a very sensible strategy. I just haven’t gotten onboard with that yet… yet.

Wanna climb shoe mountain?

I change my running shoes quarterly. Every 14 weeks or 350 miles (whichever comes first), it’s out with the old and in with the new. That way I’ve still got a little life left in the old shoes, should I need them to fill in for a run in the rain or mud.

Well, I recently logged the 14th week with my current pair of shoes and the time came for them to go to that “old shoe farm” upstate (perhaps the same place many of our pets from early childhood went). And this past week I picked up their replacements.

New Shoes! New Shoes!

It’s like Christmas in… um, August.

Truth be told, I had ordered the shoes a week prior. You see, I’ve got some wide-ass feet (Size- 11.5 Width- 2E) so most stores typically don’t keep my size in stock.

Anyway, I got the call a few days later that my box of joy had arrived. I made my way to A Runner’s Circle, my favorite running store (great people and they are longtime supporters of my running charity Team To End AIDS). And I had a Groupon to use, so extra bonus.

Now, a runner’s choice of shoe is a very personal thing. Most runners will happily talk your ear off about which brand and style they prefer.

But to quote the theme from Diff’rent Strokes: “What might be right for you, may not be right for some.”

My current brand o’ choice.

If you’re in the market for running shoes, I strongly suggest you go to a specialty running store and have your feet and gait analyzed. They’ll find the perfect shoes for you.

Over the years I’ve changed up my brand and style of shoes. For the last 3 years though, I’ve been religiously running in one shoe: New Balance 940V2.

I’m not an ambassador for New Balance, nor do I get kickbacks (bummer). I just wear this particular shoe because it fits me well and I like it.

So when one pair of 940 V2s wears out, I replace it with… you guessed it… an identical pair of 940 V2s. Yes, I’m basically wearing clones. This is the running shoe equivalent to wearing the exact same outfit every day. And I’m not alone. I know of plenty of runners who stick to the same shoe religiously.

Well, truth be told I am changing things up this time. Yup, for the last three years I have been wearing the 940 V2, blue in color. But this time I’ve got the 940 V2… in RED.

I know, I am a wild man.

So for the next few days, I’ll be wearing my new 940 V2s around the apartment, before they hit the road for a short maintenance run on Thursday and then a long run on Saturday.

I’m looking forward to pounding the pavement with these new beauties for the foreseeable future… or at least until around Thanksgiving when they take a trip upstate.

Dress for success… and Run on!