Meet my new running shoes: Asics GT-2120

I noticed that my current running shoes (Nike Air Max Moto IV+) were starting to break down after 350+ miles, they still looked good at 270 miles, so this must be cut off point for those shoes.

After reading about the Asics GT-2120s in both my running mags (Runners world and Running fitness), I was eager to get a pair of them. However I knew I had to get the right pair of shoes for my kinda feet. This morning I wet my feet, stood on the bathroom floor and according to the Sports Coach site the foot prints left behind mean I’m a slight over pronator.

This afternoon I popped over to my local running shop Sweatshop in Teddington. I was treated to a thorough analysis of my biomechanics and was told by the assistant that my right foot was over pronating (this would explain the aching knees at long distances). In addition to this I am also slightly flat footed, so I would need a shoe with a fair bit of support.

I tried out at least three types of shoes:

• Nike Air Structure Triax X+
• NB MR720SB
• Asics GT-2120

Asics came in first place, they felt snug and I knew they were the right shoes for me. The foot arch support was levelled out by cushioning on the other side of the foot (the blade?). If I couldn’t buy them I would’ve got the the New Balance. And in last place were the Nike, which was a shame because they were Nike+ ready.

I also bought a Nike+ shoe wallet which I intend to repurpose as a Nike+ chip pouch.

I’m reluctant to take them out tomorrow for my long run (13 miles), I should break them in with smaller mileage for a while. No doubt I’ll probably ignore this sensible advice and go out run in them anyways…

If you’re running seriously or just to keep fit, I highly recommend you go to a real running store not one of those leisure wear shoppes (JJB et al). You’ll walk away with a better understanding of how you run and the type of shoe you need. And later after you’ve run that marathon you’ll probably be able to walk rather than hobble.

[tags]running, shoes, marathon, training[/tags]