So here's how it went. Tuesday after work, I was able to pass by the new branch of Second Wind at Ortigas Home Depot to check out some new shoes. The store had lots of shoe selections categorized into Cushioning and Stability variants. The attendants were very accommodating and answered all my questions. I then asked about their Gait Analysis services, and it turns out that you had to pay 500 if you're not buying shoes. But they still assessed my foot type for free. It turns out that my left foot supinates and my right foot overpronates. My left foot is even a quarter inch longer than my right. Talk about bad symmetry. Luckily, they had solutions to my problem. Like what they say, ''We don't know how to sell. We just know our gear.'' And they really did know their gear well. They recommended three entry level stability shoes from New Balance, Nike and Adidas. I tried them all out by walking and slowly jogging on the treadmill. New balance wobbles a bit on my left foot so we ruled them out of my options. The Nike pair was very comfy and was stable enough to support my feet. But the Adidas pair felt more stable but a little less comfy.
To thoroughly compare the two, we put Nike on my left and Adidas on my right and then walked and jogged on the treadmill. Then we switched it up. I felt the difference between the two on my left foot. The Nike variant wobbles just a little bit to the left side of my left foot while jogging. The Adidas ones were completely stable so I guess I have found the right pair.
I didn't have the money to buy yet last Tuesday so I said I'll just come back within the week to buy the pair. I knew I can get 1000 pesos off the price tag from a different store because Second Wind did not offer the ''Refresh Your Gear'' promo by Adidas. But I felt bad that they helped me find the right pair and they won't get anything from me.
By Thursday, I decided that I'll purchase the shoes from Toby's Megamall and then buy socks from Second Wind. I will also make subsequent purchases in the future at Second Wind since they offer more options and they can really tell you what you need as a runner. When I arrived at Toby's, I found my pair. Adidas Response Stability. Tried it at my size and walked around the store. But then I saw the Adidas Supernova Sequence which looks way cooler so I tried them on too. The Supernova was pricier by a grand but it looks so much cooler. But after thoroughly trying both pairs, I still bought the Response because it felt better jogging in it. I also got it a half-size larger than what I tried at Second Wind for fear that it would get tight when my feet expands. Then I went straight to Second Wind to get 3 pairs of training socks from New Balance and a pack of Sports Beans.
The Break-In
I put the shoes out of the shoebox last night and placed the new pair of training socks before I went to bed. I set the alarm at 6am but I got up around 6:30am. It was a cool overcast morning so it was chilly outside. I wore a sports sweater on top of my shirt to warm myself up a little more. Then I stretched for 5 minutes on our porch. Afterwards I walked to the main road of our village. I didn't have a good watch that had a timer so I brought a small cellphone that had a countdown timer. The road I was running on had an asphalt portion and a cemented portion. It also has a part with a 15-25 degree slope. I warmed up for 5 minutes, then walked for a minute, then ran for 5 minutes, walked again for a minute. I repeated the 5minute-1minute cycle two more times then I cooled down and walked home.
The shoes were awesome. They were comfortable all the way throughout the run. My feet did not heat up, probably because of the socks and shoe material. I also did not feel any pain on my shins during and after the run. And the shoes didn't feel heavy at all despite all the stuff they put in the soles for support. They're comfortable and stable at the same time. I guess I'll be training in this pair until it breaks. But the thing that's missing from my gear is something I can use to measure my speed and progress. Since this pair is compatible with the Adidas micoach, I think I'll put it on top of my Christmas wishlist. Hopefully somebody would read this and give me one for Christmas (ehhhrrrmmmwifey). I'm just hoping.
Stay tuned for my next blog post. I'll be featuring someone who's inspired me into seriously running. Keep running, guys!
P.S. Here's a quick review of the Adidas Response Stability shoes by runningninja
That's so cool! You finally did it :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks JA. Hope to get in a 3k race with my wife by December :)
ReplyDeleteYour shoes look soooo much like my shoes right now. Hahaha. I have it forever (well, around 3 years now) which reminds me that I need to replace it! (or have Topher replace it!)
ReplyDelete@Aleng
ReplyDeleteHaha! Have him replace it and you both should start running too. :)