Saturday, May 31, 2008

Check out my new ride!

I present to you the Nike Air Zoom Hayward+ 3.



Oooh Aaaah! We went to RunTex Riverside Friday night because we knew Coach Mac would be working, and because both Chad and I needed a new pair of shoes. Chad's latest pair of Brooks aren't working out for him, so he went to try on the Mizuno Inspire. He is used to running in Mizuno Alchemys, but they changed the model too much on the last design update, and they aren't working for him as well as they used to.

I am a loyal Mizuno runner. I love Mizuno Wave Riders, and have been wearing every single update since the Wave Rider 4s. Sometimes I wear the Wave Precisions when I want a faster shoe, and I have been known to alternate my Riders with Precisions, Elixirs, and one time an Alchemy. Friday evening I was looking for a new pair of Riders, Elixirs, or Precisions. No such luck. They were out of my size 10.5 in all 3 shoes...bummer. I know some people complain that RunTex never has their size, but I have only run into that problem once before.

Oh well...I asked Mac if he could bring me some comparable shoes in other brands, and Mac was happy to oblige. I first tried a pair of Adidas that were really cool looking and felt very fast and comfortable. I could see why Mac chose them for me. He gave me a pair of Adidas Supernovas, but they didn't feel right with all of the padding pushing into my foot. Then he brought out the Nikes.

He started me with Zoom Haywards, and I have to admit I really wasn't too sure about them. They are obviously 'retro' styled, and I wondered if they were going to be just some fashion sneaker that girls buy because they are 'cute'. They looked really great, but how did they feel? I was trying to be really critical of them because they looked like they weren't 'real running shoes' to me. Well, they fit like magic slippers. They are totally lightweight, very low profile, and offer the flexibility in the sole like I enjoy from the Mizuno Precisions.

I also tried the Nike Pegasus, and re-tried the pair of fast Adidas shoes that I was almost sold on. There was no question that the Haywards felt the best of all. So...here are some more shots of my sweet new ride. I will wear these on Tuesdays and Thursdays to quality workouts, not on my long runs.

These are styled after Steve Prefontaine's actual drawing and has a note in the tongue of the shoe with the drawing and his autograph. I love how the back and the top of the tongue say 'Pre' on them!
As Mike requested...a shot of the note on the underside of the tongue. I hope you didn't think the note was from Steve himself :).



Here's Miko checking the new shoe out. My current Mizuno Wave Rider is there for comparison.


Just in case you are wondering (and I know you really care)...I have a naturally neutral foot with rather high arches. I also have very flexible feet and tend to have natural pronation when I run. Stability shoes provide way too much structure for me, though I will alternate my regular neutral shoes with a stability shoe if my IT band starts to aggravate.

1 comment:

MW said...

i think you forgot to post the photo of the "has a note in the tongue of the shoe with the drawing and his autograph."I look forward to it!