pumped up kicks

And on the topic of pumped up kicks, I haven’t had a shoe post in awhile!

Well first off, a warning out to those who love the Adidas Adioses as much as I do.  I heard awhiles back that the “upgrade”-the Adios 2’s-would be more of a lightweight trainer and less like a racing flat.  Not wanting to deal with having to deviate from the perfect racing flat, I immediately stockpiled a few pairs, which should last me til next year I think?  And it was a good thing, because I actually got to try out the Adios 2’s a coupla weeks back when an Adidas rep came to our workout.  My suspicions were confirmed-felt like a totally different shoe…more substantial and not as flexible.  (of course, this was also 2 days post-NYC Half…)

And my marathon shoe?  Well even though I talked about the Brooks Launch here as being my marathon shoe…i dunno, for whatever reason I fell out of love with them.

Enter the Brooks PureFlows.

I had heard very good things about Brooks’ PureProject line, and I actually had my eye on these shoes even before NYCM (but figured it was too late to switch then)  These felt awesome from the minute I tried them out-like how they had the feel of a racing flat but are substantial enough for a marathon.  And yes, these will be my Boston shoes.  Well not this pair exactly…as I had to get a fresher pair for the big day and so I had to go with the color update…

I guess these shoes won't clash with the hot pink socks? 🙂

And of course, one of those shoes will be wearing my lucky Yankee charm on race day 🙂

Shifting to running fashion-I got to give a shout to lululemon for my new favorite shorts-their Shorty Shorts.

yeah, this obviously ain't me.

These have the stamp of approval to be my marathon short-I wore these on my Palisades 20-miler and they worked liek a charm-I had wanted a pair of fitted shorts with pockets, and these have 5!  (well actually 7, but I don’t quite trust the 2 on the front of the legs)  Plus they did not ride up once (thanks to some grippy silicone at the bottom.)  So I got the shorts and shoes-jury is still out on the pink socks-if it’s warm I may ditch them, just gotta decide on the top.

And I have my post-race apparel all ready to go…right now just hanging up in my closet, waiting 12 more days to be worn 🙂

it’s gotta be the shoes…

OK, I don’t really think the shoes are to thank for my running lately, but I realized I haven’t had a running shoe post in quite awhile and since this time last year, most of my rotation has been pretty much overhauled.  So I present to you, the the footwear that will get me through this NYCM training season:

Brooks Defyance 4 (8.8 oz)-the “workhorses” aka my go-to training shoe.  God bless Brooks for not messing with a good thing (yes, I’m looking at you, Asics!) as this is the third model of Defyances I’ve worn and they still work and work well.  To be used on easy/recovery days.

Brooks Launch (7.5 oz)-my “in-between” lightweight trainer.  Pretty much a lighter version of the Defyance, I’m really liking these so far.  Great for longer tempo runs and I’ve used them on my last 2 long runs as I’m hoping on making these my marathon shoe.  (and didn’t those last 2 long runs go very well?  hmmmm)

Adidas Adizero Adios (6.1 oz)-my wicked fast and flashy racing shoes, also used for track workouts.  LOVE THESE.  If you remember correctly, i did try these on last year and they didn’t fit right, well what a difference they make with a women’s-specific fit.  Minimal but stable-perfect!!  And unlike any of the previous racers I’ve used, I’m already looking into getting another pair-now the only question is do i get another watermelon candy green pair like the ones I have now or the flashy neon pink (on the shoes in the link?) 🙂

So this terrific trio of shoes are working very well together-and I can only hope they stay in perfect harmony for the next 3 months and longer!! 🙂

And of course, I gotta give some credit to the recently retired shoes that are gone but not forgotten…

Brooks Defyance 3-I went through several pairs of these and they did me good.  These aren’t completely “retired” just yet, I have one pair that’s used on bad weather days (or if I’m running on muddy terrain)

Adidas Tempo-I don’t know why, but this year I kinda stopped liking them.  I wore them in the Brooklyn Half and honestly wasn’t feeling the love for it.  They have since been replaced with the Brooks Launches but still have a place in my shoe closet as the shoes I wear to the gym 🙂

Saucony Fastwitch 3-my first pair of racing shoes.  Good for my first pair of racers, but I always felt something better was out there.

Nike LunaRacer 2-they may have looked pretty, but after awhile I felt like my legs/ankles were too wobbly when i was wearing them…not enough support, even when wearing my orthotics.  (you can sorta tell in this photo…especially on my right side)

Saucony Kinvara-oh man….I really, really wanted to like these shoes.  After they’ve gotten such great reviews from teammates and friends.  They have less than 30 miles on them and yet…I have no desire to put them on any time soon.  Just another one that I wasn’t really feeling the love for.  That said, when I was wearing them it was wintertime and I wasn’t in the best of shape…wonder if I should give them another try?  (but why mess with the equation if I don’t have to…)

I sorta feel like Carrie Bradshaw, talking in such depth about the merits of all my different shoes! 🙂

Finally, this is blog post #800!!  This time it took me a year and 3 months to get from #700 to 800…maybe I don’t need a life as much now than I did when I went only a few months between century posts? 🙂