Tag Archives: running shoes

Shoe Review: Brooks Glycerin 8

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I’ve run in a lot of different brands of shoes, but I’ve never run in Brooks before.

I have to admit, I was a little worried I wouldn’t like them, but they are definitely one of the best pair of shoes I’ve run in.

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I bought the Brooks Glycerin 8 because they fit really well and they were slightly discounted since the 9s were out.

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My feet are odd in that I have wide feet plus a narrow heel, which makes finding running shoes a bit of a challenge.

With my wide forefoot, it is critical I find a pair of shoes has a mesh toe box area along the sides.

The narrow heel means I have a hard time finding a shoe that will not slip off my heel, but these fit like a glove.

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I have really enjoyed running in these and they have held up very well. I have about 400 miles on them so far and they still feel cushiony and well supported. (I usually wear my shoes until 500+ miles because I am a cheapskate.)

I honestly don’t have any legitimate complaints about them. The only thing would be the cosmetic design: they aren’t the cutest pair of shoes I’ve ever owned, but I’ll get over it.

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This was my 5th winter in Alaska and up until this winter, I have never put studs in my shoes to provide more traction when running on snow and ice.

I have used my YakTraxs previous winters, but I wore them on a 11-miler this winter and got two black toe nails from them. Since them, I’ve been giving them the silent treatment and ignoring them. Plus, all the hard-core runners up here give you the “stink eye” for wearing the YakTraxs, so I became a “real” runner and got some studs in my shoes.

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These studs are simply screws from the hardware store inserted in the bottom of my shoes.

I really wanted to install the screws myself, but I didn’t really know what I was doing, so I let the experts at Skinny Raven do it for me.

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Love the Brooks slogan on the bottom of the shoes.

Yes, I do believe running is in my DNA.

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Right now I am switching between these Brooks and a pair of Saucony Hurricane 14s, and I’m really loving the Saucony Hurricans as well. I think they may be my favorite pair of shoes I’ve ever run in!

Two Golden Rules for Staying Injury Free

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I really believe there are Two Golden Rules to prevent most running-related injuries:

1. Don’t increase your weekly mileage by more than 10% each week.

(For example, if you run 20 miles one week, you should not run more than 22 miles the following week.)

2. Replace your shoes every 500 miles.

(The “experts” say 300-500 miles, but it seems as though most brands are durable enough to withstand closer to 500 miles.)

The more I talk to people about their running-related injuries, the more I believe these two “rules” will help prevent most injuries from running. I’m not saying that if you follow these rules, you will never battle an injury, but I do believe these two rules are the result of a fair number of injuries.

I usually do a good job of following my two rules (heck, I was the one who came up with them), but I have to confess I did break rule #2 and paid for it the past two and a half weeks.

For the past two and a half weeks, I’ve been dealing with some pain in my right arch. I cut my mileage back, took some days off, cross-trained, and it still wasn’t getting better. I decided to take a look at my training log book and find out how many miles were on my shoes. My shoes looked fine: there soles didn’t seem to be breaking down and they still felt comfortable. However, after doing the math, I discovered there were close to 550 miles on my current running shoes. So I switched out to another pair yesterday morning, and guess what–no pain!!!

And thankfully, my new shoes came in the mail yesterday.

Saucony ProGrid Ride 3

I wore them on a three mile run this morning, and so far I really like how they fit. They seem to have a good balance of cushioning and support, and I really liked that the toe box didn’t squish my toes.

My previous shoes: Saucony ProGrid Triumph 7

I really did (still do) like these shoes. They are a cushion shoe but also have really good support. I also ran in the Triumph 6, so decided to get the 7s as well. My only disappointment was the fact they did last much past 500 miles.

Prior to that, I did all my marathon training in: Asics Kayano 16. This is an excellent stability shoe. The combination of stability and cushioning is great. Even though these retail at $140 (I paid about $110 for them.), I got my money’s worth because I ran well over 800 miles in them!

The lacing pattern is off-set, but it never bothered me.

I have also run in: Asics Kayano 14, Asics 2000 series, New Balance, and Mizuno.

Breakfast

My pretty standard pre-long run breakfast.

Multi-grain Cheerios with equal amounts of almond milk and regular milk added after the picture was taken because I hate soggy cereal.

A super delicious Wheat Germ Streusel Banana Muffin that I baked last. You have got to make these! They are so moist and flavorful. I should sell them in a bakery! After letting my breakfast settle, I attempted a 8-mile run with Craig biking alongside. I’ve missed him accompanying me on my long runs since he’s been gone, so it was so nice to have him along this time.

I decided to do 5 miles in my old shoes, come back home, and change into my new shoes to break them in. I was doing fine up until 7.5 miles when then my arch started hurting again. I took a walk break, jogged for a while again, but it started hurting again, so I walked the rest of the way back home. :( Bummer.

I admit I might have overdone it with attempting 8 miles, but I am hopeful that once I start wearing my new shoes consistently I’ll be okay.

Breakfast #2

Since I don’t have time to make a hot breakfast for us during the week, it was time to make some Greek Yogurt Pancakes this weekend. After our run/bike, we were in heaven devouring these!

Pancakes + nectarine + chia seeds + Crofter’s Organic Superfruit Just Fruit Spread + pure maple syrup = Heaven! ;)

After a delicious breakfast, I treated myself to a massage with my massage therapist, Tiffany, at Luminary. If you need a massage, check her out, she is amazing!

Now I’m baking two different kinds of chocolate chip cookies for a “Cookie Bake-off & Potluck” tonight. I think both recipes are going to be out-of-this-world good. I’ll let you know which one wins!