How To Break Up With Running Shoes

Breaking up is hard to do!

Many of my blog readers have hobbies and interests they become passionate about. Running has been one of those hobbies for me. As my blog audience has grown, I've gained some fellow runners as readers, too. Sometimes the tools we need to engage in our hobbies and passions become just as essential as the hobby itself. For a runner, the shoes we wear are everything. The right or wrong shoes can make or break a run.  I know I’m not the only runner who has strong preferences toward running shoes. For me, not just any shoe will do.

We become attached to our shoes.  They cover many miles together with us, hopefully as dependable protection and guidance for our feet over all kinds of terrain, through all kinds of weather. The right pair of shoes feels like a natural extension of our feet, part of our own bodies. Our shoes even come to be regarded as one would think of an old friend. It’s an intimate relationship we keep with our running shoes. Especially the pair we wear most often, on long runs and challenging workouts, and through the toughest races. They are with us in victory and defeat, on every pass, and across every finish line. 

So, when my most recently purchased pair of running shoes finally bit the dust, I had a hard time with it. I had worn Asics Gel Kayanos since High School. I still remember when I was first introduced to Kayano. I was in High School, preparing for another track season. I was probably a Junior or Senior, but can’t remember. My mom had taken me to Fitness Sports in Des Moines, the first endurance-sport specific store I had ever been to. I felt a mix of intimidation, awe, and camaraderie among the staff of dedicated runners. For the first time, I was being helped and guided into shoes by a female runner who understood how to fit another female runner into the right shoe.

I had picked out some flashy Nikes and a few other shoes I thought looked cool from their impressive selection of women’s running shoes. The clerk patiently let me try them each on. Then she brought me the Kayano. Oh the Kayano. When I put that shoe on, it felt like running, like shoes, like life suddenly made sense! She had found the perfect pair for me, explaining that as an overpronator, I would benefit from the stability of the shoe, and since I’d put a lot of wear on them over the course of a track season, the light weight would be great on my feet as well. Then she showed me some great ways to tie my shoes to further aid with ankle stability, and keep my laces from coming untied.

I walked out of the store with my Mom and my new Kayanos and began a relationship that would last many years began. I loved my Kayanos from the first day on. I wore them to track practice, to school, whenever I got a chance. I went through pair after pair of Kayanos over the years, from High School through all of College, and into my adult life living in Jackson Hole.

Then I had a little tryst.

Living in Jackson was awesome in many ways, but not on my wallet. Even though I had a good job, I did not have much money to spare. When the time came to update to a newer model of Kayano, I found myself in the local sporting goods store, walking the ladies’ running shoe aisle, searching for Kayano. The store had them in stock in my size, but suddenly the very high price tag had become too much. Reluctantly, I tried on a few other pair of shoes, sticking with my trusty Asics brand, and eventually settled on the Gel Nimbus. I remember being immediately impressed by the cushiness of the shoe, and had also noticed it had just as much stability control as the Kayano I had built my running life with over the years. And, at $40 less in price, the Nimbus fit the bill, even though I felt a bit like I was cheating on my Kayanos.

My fling with Nimbus lasted much longer than I had anticipated. I used those shoes as my primary pair for several years, through a knee surgery and ensuing rehab, and two more moves. Then, at a more financially stable point in my life, and back at a point when I felt like I could really get back into running, I went back to my old beau and purchased another pair of Kayanos.

In my post-surgery running world, I have now found it more important than ever to stick with trusted shoes and truly see it as an investment in my health to purchase good, reliable footwear that will not only keep my safe from injury but will last a long time. I’ve also learned to be in tune with my body, and upgrade shoes when my body tells me to. I noticed I could start to feel it in my knee when I had accumulated too many miles on a pair of shoes.

So it was I went through two more pairs of Kayanos, jogging on the dusty dirt roads of our farm, and working out with high-schoolers as an Assistant Track Coach. The thing of it was, however, it felt like I was going through each pair faster and faster than I had ever gone through them before, even though my mileage really wasn’t increasing.

I convinced myself that somehow I must have been harder on these shoes. Surely my faithful Kayanos wouldn’t let me down. Would they? With my most recent pair, I continued to wear them much longer than I should have. My knee barked every time I wore them. Eventually, I noticed the balls of my big toes feeling very painful after runs, too. After researching the symptoms, it now appeared I was beginning to form bunions! How could Kayano do this to me?!

It finally got to the point where I couldn’t stand painfully slogging through another run or workout. I dug around until I found the old pair of Nimbus I had kept as kickaround shoes, and in a fit of anger toward my Kayanos, gave them another spin. “I’ll show you, Kayano,” I thought, “I’ll go back to my old Nimbuses just to spite you!” The first run I went on with the Nimbuses on my feet, the knee pain and foot pain went away immediately. It was like an epiphany. My feet and knee felt so, so much better. It was truly like running on the puffy clouds the shoes are named after.

Still not wanting to doubt my Kayanos, however, I continued to think of the old, worn out Nimbuses as just a temporary fix and thought I must have been fooling myself somehow that they were better than Kayano. As the months of this summer and early fall went by, I continued to feel great in my knee and feet, however, and finally felt confirmed that the next pair of shoes I buy should be a Nimbus. Like that college boyfriend you stay with way longer than you should have, it was time to say goodbye to Kayano.

Finally clicking SUBMIT on the online order form for my Nimbuses, I felt relief. I had committed to this new, better relationship with a shoe that again felt like it was made just for me. Nimbus still had the support of Kayano but was cushier, and had a wider toe box—both great for my aged body. See Kayano, it’s not you—it’s me! My body and needs in a running shoe had changed, so I had to finally admit that an actual change in gear was necessary, too. Breaking up with Kayano and moving on to Nimbus has been just the right change I needed.

When the new shoes came last week, I felt refreshed in putting them on. I once again feel like I’m running on Cloud Nine with my sole mate! (Puns intended- You’re welcome!)

Breaking up is hard to do. Sometimes we can’t see through our own emotional attachment to the old on to what is really a better fit in life- with lovers or with shoes. 

The new Nimbuses! My feet feel so happy! 

Recent progression of running shoes, from Left to Right: Kayano, old Nimbus, new Nimbus!

I wore these shoes into the ground!
They're dirty, dusty, and flat, but still didn't feel too bad on my feet. 

Bottom tread VERY worn down!

The Kayanos even developed holes! 

All my shoes seem to develop wear at the back of the heel, although I honestly think that's from sliding my custom inserts in and out, and not from running use.

How many miles will we cover together, Nimbus?

Disclaimer: I am not receiving any endorsements for writing about product in this post. All opinions are my own and are genuine.