Shoes 2010 Edition

In one of my previous lives--the one right after college, to be precise--I earned a master's degree in engineering mechanics. At the time, a small group within my department studied biomechanics; but I, having more of a theoretical and computational bent as well as more than enough naiveté, then had little interest in an area so dependent on experimental research. It was only years later, long after I had left the field, that I came to appreciate, and even envy, what my biomechanical friends had been doing. After all, without their like, I'm not sure that the running shoes that I need would exist.

This past Saturday, I replaced my running shoes, Mizuno Wave Nirvanas, with a new pair of Mizuno Wave Alchemy shoes. The old pair probably had between 500 and 600 miles on them, all logged in the last 11 months. They were my first "real" pair of running shoes, although recognizing that doesn't suggest that I'm sentimentally attached to them (I'm not). But they served me well for a year. They weren't perfect, but they were far more than adequate.

When I began running last year, I headed to a large sporting goods chain to buy a pair of shoes. That was a big mistake. I picked up a pair of Asics running shoes (I forget which model), from which I removed the insoles and replaced them with custom orthotics that I'd been wearing for about 15 years. After less than three months of running, I was experiencing bad foot pain--probably plantar fasciitis--in my left foot. I was beginning to worry that my running career was coming to a young end. I visited a podiatrist who fitted me with new orthotics, but the new ones wouldn't even fit in my running shoes. Then, at a friend's suggestion, I started looking for new shoes.

After some research, I came to realize that feet even as flat as mine aren't that unusual and that, over the years, the engineers who develop shoes had designed footwear that addressed the issues raised by feet like the ones that dangle from the end of my legs. I also speculated that removing the orthotics that come with them defeats the design goals for the shoes. I headed to a local running store so that people who knew both running and feet could help my find a new pair.

I learned one more important thing that day at the running store: My problems were exacerbated, if not caused, by some serious flaws in my form. One of my first tasks, then, was going to be improve my form--basic stuff, but essential to running injury-free.

After trying several pairs, I settled on the Mizuno Wave Nirvana. I took some time to refine my choice, but this was too important to approach casually.

Still, the new shoes weren't perfect. I still had occasional problems with pain in the arch of my left foot, although I never experienced the sort of persistent pain that I'd encountered previously. This time, tehn, I decided that, rather than simply buying this year's model of the Wave Nirvana, I needed to return to a shoe store and go through the process again.

I'm glad that I did. While I tried on the Wave Nirvana--and it was even one of my finalists--I found that the Wave Alchemy provided more support for my arch. (I also discovered that the Mizuno shoes in general were more suited to my feet--or I was more accustomed to their design--that the Saucony and Brooks shoes that I tried. I suspect that this reflects variations in design philosophies among the various manufacturers.) The icing on the cake, I learned after making my decision, was that my new choice was about $30 cheaper than the runner-up. Still, the shoes felt similar enough to my old shoes that, on their maiden run yesterday, I hardly noticed a difference--except that I had no arch pain, and the new shoes did seem to absorb the shock of hitting the ground better than the old pair.

I don't know how long it will take me to run my next 500 miles, but, if all goes well, I may find myself in another pair of the same model next time around. And I'll have biomechanical engineers to thank.