Neutrality

I've added two new pairs of shoes to the family here in the last six weeks or so. They are neutral shoes, so I'm getting away from stability shoes since my weight has crept down (and has ticked down again here recently).

A little while back, I paid a Saturday afternoon visit to my old stomping grounds and said hello to some friends, and also came home with these guys:

They're the old Mizuno Wave Rider 14s. These shoes didn't sell too well two years ago. They were on the sale rack when I used to work there, and I bought them off the same rack for 60 bucks. They're up to about 50 miles now, and I use them on Saturday long runs. I have two pairs of shoes that are over 450 miles, so these are welcome additions. They help me stretch the lives of my other running shoes as well. I haven't had any problems with switching away from stability.

Then a week and a half ago, I found these guys:

My new Saucony Ride 3. These are three-year-old shoes, bought for 30 dollars when the First Lady and I were looking at shoes for her one evening. I couldn't say no to an opportunity like that. I even treated myself to a new three pack of socks and still got in at around $40.

I've taken these out for two spins-- a tempo 7 last week, and half-mile repeats (7 miles) yesterday, and I'm already a big fan. I haven't felt anything this soft on my feet in a long time-- it's like I'm wearing two pillows.

So the neutral shoes have been incredible.

The weekly mileage has been around 30 for the last month or so. Pretty nice, considering we've hit the hot and humid season here in Alabama. I've done a good job of getting out the door by 7 am to get a run in. It gets pretty sticky even at that hour, but we're getting the job done. Saturdays are a challenge because I like whiskey so much, so we've gone to the gym for Saturday long runs. I'm even off from work this week, and my body is conditioned to wake up at 6 to get going, so things are going well.