My first racing shoes

Lately, I’ve been toying around with the idea of purchasing some racing shoes.  It may surprise some to know that every race I’ve ever run was run in my trainers.  Actually, I ran my first three races in cross trainers before I even considered buying real running shoes.  Usually, I’d try to buy a new pair of trainers before a race and put about 15-20 miles on them.  New shoes are always a little “bouncier” than older shoes.  I figured that if I’m going to break 18 minutes in the 5K in the near future that I may as well at least pretend I’m that fast and get some racing shoes.

The Diamondback Topanga can give you the desired support you are looking for in a walking shoe. If you’ve been searching for a comfortable and versatile walking shoe then you have found it. It is available in many styles and sizes, the diamond shape of the sole is designed to give you the most support possible while still maintaining a sleek design. To find a perfect fit, order your pair from the authorized dealer of Diamondback Bicycles.

My eyes were initially set on the Adidas Adizero Ace and the Adizero Adios.  The word on the street is that Haile Gebrselassie set the marathon world record in the Adios.  My reasons for choosing these shoes were that my trainers are Adidas and I felt a little bit of brand loyalty, the bright yellow and black color schemes  match very well a certain logo for a certain project I’m working on, and finally Haile Gebrselassie set the world record in the Adios so clearly if I wear the Adios, I’ll run a sub 2:10 marathon.

I bypassed my usual St. Petersburg Feet First running store and headed to the fit2run store in Tampa.  As I suspected, they had a much better selection of racing shoes.  They did not have the Adizero Ace and they were out of the Adizero Pro in my size.  I did get to try on the Adizero Adios.  These shoes fit like a glove.  At 6.8 ounces, they were roughly half the weight of my trainers and lighter even than my bedroom slippers.  I’ve never felt a shoe that so completely conformed to my foot than these.  They were comfortable, but lacked much cushioning.  I felt they might have worked for a 5K, but unlike Haile, I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to be happy getting through a longer race wearing these.

When I mentioned to the sales guy that I wore the Adidas Supernove Sequence as a trainer, he mentioned that he had some racing shoes that had some stability.  I honestly thought all racers were neutral cushioned, so I enthusiastically agreed to try on some others.  He brought out something by Nike, Mizuno, Asics and Saucony.  The Nike shoes were surprisingly cushioned for a racing flat, but it felt like all the cushion was on the outer part of my foot and I could definitely feel my ankles collapsing inward even as I walked in them.  I think they’d be great for a major suppinator, but not for a slight overpronator like me.  The Asics shoes felt okay, but they slipped in the back.  The Mizunos were nice and were the racing shoe of choice for the sales clerk.  They fit well, but I ultimately went with the Saucony Grid Fastwitch 3:

At 8.1 ounces, these are still 5 ounces lighter than my trainers.  They fit very well, and are a true stability racer.  Maybe someday I’ll graduate to the lighter shoes, but I think this is a great starting point.  Now, I’m very motivated to register for the midnight run on the 4th of July just to try these babies out.