My Running Shoe Rotation

Tomorrow, I'm planning on attending a running clinic at Appalachian Running Company and it's inevitable that I'll be tempted to purchase a new pair of shoes.

As runners, we tend to over-complicate an otherwise ridiculously simple sport with products designed to make you run better, recover faster, and so on.  And for most of us, our worst vice in this area falls under the category of footwear.

Entering my 5th year of running (wow, I cannot believe it's been that long!  I should be winning marathons at this point or something...), I feel like I've got a good handle on which shoes my body and mind require for various types of runs and workouts.  Not only does it help with injury prevention, it also tends to help me focus on the task at hand, be it a fast workout, long run on roads, or technical mountain running.

Now I'm not going to get into anything scientific or technical about form or footwear.  SOOO many other people do this way better than I ever could, and frankly I just don't have the patience to learn all that crap.  Instead, I'd simply like to shine a light into the window of my world of shoe choices and purposes...basically a What and Why of what I put on my feet when I head out the door for a run.

Compared to other runners, I think I keep it pretty simple in terms of shoes, but my basis for this statement doesn't have much supporting evidence.  I have visions of all other runners with inventories like The Ginger Runner, staring into their technicolor closets on race morning, poring over which shoes to wear like a teenage girl on the first day of 10th grade.

That is not me.

At any given moment, I have 4 pairs of shoes in my rotation:

1) Fast, light trail shoe
2) Cushioned trail shoe
3) Fast, light road shoe
4) Cushioned road shoe

And these are the specific models of shoes that I (currently) wear for each of these categories, respectively:

1) Brooks PureGrit

2) Hoka One One Stinson Evo Trail

3) Saucony Kinvara 3

4) Brooks Ghost 5

Some of you may already be judging my choices, saying things like "the Kinvara isn't really a fast and light shoe" but keep in mind that these are the shoes for me: my feet, my legs, and my fucked up head.  YMMV.

So that's the What.  As you can imagine, the Why breaks down without confusion as far as Trail vs Road applications.  The other considerations really aren't complicated either, kinda like me.  And since I'm currently at work while writing this post, why not make a handy dandy flowchart?

In general, if I'm running a "shorter" distance race (which I consider anything <=13.1), then I will use the fast shoe for the appropriate surface.  It really helps mentally to "feel fast".  The only exception would be when I know the course is going to be very hilly with long descents, which normally will only be in trail races where I live, so I'd go with the more cushioned shoe (option #2) to save my legs as much as possible from the pounding long downhill stretches can impose.

By running varying speeds and distances throughout training for different distance races, I find this logic mixes up the shoes pretty well and I'm not constantly running in the same shoe, day in and out.

"But, hey!  I only want to wear one pair of shoes!  What would you do then?"

If I had to choose one shoe for everything?  I'd probably go with the Patagonia Everlong.  Based on what I've heard and read, it's a lightweight trail shoe that works great as a hybrid road/trail shoe, with weight and feel similar to the Kinvara.  Perhaps that's my next shoe purchase?  I do need to replace my PureGrits very soon :), unfortunately ARC doesn't carry Patagonia.

Hey Runners!  I'd love to hear from you!

• How many pairs of running shoes are in your rotation?
• Do you have a decision-system similar to mine?
• If you had to choose one shoe for any run, which would it be?

Hooper's Island Trip with Mom - April, 2014

Christmas in April.  Not a phrase spoken or heard often (if at all), but it happened this year for Mom and I.

You see back in December, for the first year ever I decided rather than giving away material things, I'd be giving away activities.  Shortly after Christmas, Mom and I sat in front of a computer screen, scanning sites like Amtrak, VRBO, Kayak, and Southwest.  The possibilities were (almost) endless, and ultimately we decided on a place in Southern Maryland through airbnb.  I've heard nothing but great things from friends regarding this site and I can't say I've had a negative experience yet.  My other (and first) foray into airbnb booking was in Nicaragua and it worked out perfectly!

Labeled as the "Best Kept Secret by the Bay", our airbnb house and the surrounding area was certainly that!  We couldn't believe how quaint and non-commercialized Hooper's Island was...just a small fishing village on the bay where literally everyone waves at passers by and blue crabs are served "fresh off the boat" in season.

Without an itinerary, we also visited Cambridge and Annapolis during the trip, and couldn't have asked for better weather: Sunny with a bay breeze and highs in the low 70s!

It turns out that many of the roads and sites we visited would soon be home to the newest Ironman Triathlon in the US: Ironman Maryland.  I've never done a tri, but after running and driving around this area, be ready for an easy course terrain-wise.  I mean, like zero hills.

I'm really looking forward to doing this style of Christmas gift again next year; can't wait to see where my family wants to go next!

Enjoy some photos from the trip, as well as a (mostly) dash cam video at the end of this post.

On the harbor in Annapolis

Maryland State House

Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge (bald eagles were nesting)

Along the trails in BWNWR

Speedy little run!

The forest beginning to devour an abandoned tractor along the trails in BWNWR

What's in your collection?

You're invited to a friends' house and upon entry to a certain room (or rooms!) you encounter a gathering of memorabilia bordering on excessive, and way past crazy.  It's a collection of something you've probably thrown away thousands of times: perhaps bottle caps, or maybe postcards?  In any event, you don't understand the obsession, but your friend is passionate about their private stash.  We've all met him or her, and if you haven't, maybe it's you!  No worries though...

we all have quirky things that we save

One of mine is rather specialized collection which focuses on a specific set of parameters.

1. It must be a hood ornament from a car (and no...I'm not tearing metal off of vehicles!  These are found along the side of the road)
2. It must be found while running

Because of these stringent requirements, well, I haven't accumulated many (read: 3).

That thing gotta Hemi?

As you can see, I've also turned this collection into a small arts and crafts project with a little glue and some magnets.  Totally not my idea though, I was inspired by a friend. (who may or may not have their own quirky collections!)

I like to think of myself as fairly minimalist, so I'm not much of a collector of anything else, but the glimmer of a shiny object along a road run gets me instantly excited.  Maybe I'm just entertaining myself, who knows?

What sort of running related things do you collect?

Bibs?
Medals?
Shoes?
Books?