I've been reading other running related blogs lately and am always interested to hear about what gear other people run in. My interest of late has been trainers in particular because I'm in need of a new pair, I came to this conclusion upon reading that trainers are only good for a certain length of time and should be replaced every few hundred miles or less. I was kind of taken aback at that statement because I had assumed that my running trainers would last until the rubber was removing itself from the bottom or until my toes were suddenly peeking through holes - though having taken a look through more knowledgeable eyes at my current trainers it would seem both scenarios are not that far away.
The problem with buying trainers here in Caithness is mainly one of distance -there is no decent running / sports department within a 2 hour drive of where we live and being a Narcoleptic the thought of that kind of journey freaks me out, which means I have to be content to purchase from the tinterweb. That of course holds it own problems not least of which being that I can't try the trainer on for fit and suitability and I can't get on one of those fandangled machines that tells you your running style and needs.
So what do we do?
Well in my instance I looked at various shops online and googled information about each trainer, the problem there was that I ended up looking at so many I got all discombobulated, couldn't remember what each one was and ended up so fed up that I gave up and decided my current trainers would suffice for a few more years on top of the 4 years I've already had them.
But then I had a cunning plan (said in Baldric tones), I decided to google information about my current trainers and replace them with new, that way I knew they were suitable for me - though when I first bought them I only got them cos they were cheap on EBay (I didn't know anything about running styles at that point).
My main running trainers are Asics Gel Virage2. These are my go to trainer for roads and/or tracks though I suspect they are not built for tracks as such, but they do give me the little bit of stability and support I need.
My second pair of trainers are Asics creed, again these offer me a little support and stability and seem to be a better trainer for forests and tracks as they feel a little more cushioned - though this could simply be because they're slightly newer.
I also have a pair of Saucony Pro Grid Jazz. I initially bought a pair of Saucony Pro Grid something or other from EBay and although they were amazingly comfortable they were too small (this is where I learned to go up a size in running trainers) so I sold them on. I got the Pro Grid Jazz before I knew about running styles and found straight away that I could not run in them without leg pain. The Pro grid Jazz are a neutral shoe where my other 2 are stability shoes so this is how I learned my running style.
My daughter now runs in the Pro Grid Jazz so I guess she's a neutral runner.
Anyway, armed with my running style I went back onto EBay, searched running shoes in my size (7) and then just googled the running style of each one until I found a trainer I liked at a price I could afford (as little as possible basically).
I really wanted to stick to Asics but I settled on a pair of Mizuno (a brand I've never tried) Wave Inspire 7. This particular model is a couple of years old but it's a good stability shoe apparantly and I'm quite looking forward to trying them out.
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