Give a girl the right shoes, and she can conquer the world. ~Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe had it right about at least one thing.  "Give a girl the right shoes, and she can conquer the world." Shoes are without a doubt, the most important piece of running equipment.  I am a pronator who wears stability shoes.  (Yes, I've read all that stuff on barefoot running but I'm sticking with shoes dang-it!.)  I have tried many brands and have come to love Asics.  My one and only complaint is that the webbing tends to develop little holes on the sides and/or in the toe by 200 or so miles. The little holes, while annoying considering the price tag, don't cause any problems.  I keep wearing them until I've logged somewhere between 400 or 500 miles.  Then they're demoted or when absolutely necessary, recycled.


Without further ado, hop aboard the time machine with Ebenezer Scrooge for a tour through my shoes of Christmas past, present and future!

Shoes of Christmas Past

1.  Montrail: Splurged and bought these prior to having kids.  Unfortunately increased a half a shoe size after having twins and couldn't fit into them anymore.  They're sitting in my laundry room because I can't seem to part with them.

2.  Nike Zoom:  Great lightweight shoe for speedwork and racing.  I bought them to go with my Nike+.  After wearing them for a while I realized that they were too small for running.  They're okay to wear to gym for weight training and to work on dress down days. 

3.  Asics 2140:  Have logged over 600 miles.  They got me through my first marathon and since we've been through so much together, I can't bear to part with them.  They are my gardening, yard work and play-in-the-grass-with-my-kids-shoes.

4. Brooks:  Last year while training for my second marathon, I decided that maybe it wasn't such a good thing that I was so stuck on one specific brand.  I love the "run happy" motto for Brooks, they felt good on in the store and on my test run.  They came highly recommended by Runner's World and runners I respected.  I wore them for about a month and found that they just didn't absorb enough shock.  A month before my second marathon, I went back to my trusty Asics.  

Shoes of Christmas Present


1.  Montrail Masochists:  These are some bad-ass trail shoes with lugs big enough the conquer the most serious of terrain AND keep your feet dry during creek crossings.  They are heavy and clunky but necessary for winter and spring technical trail running in the northwest. 

2.  Asics 2140:  These are my standby, everyday training shoes.  This particular pair will soon be heading off into the sunset.  Having taken me at least 500 miles, they're ready for retirement.  I pull them on when my newer pair is wet or hiding from me.
 
3.  Asics 2140 Trail:  Great for the less technical trails that aren't prone to muddy or wet conditions.  These are some cool, comfy, cute shoes.


4.  Asics 2150:  My current training shoe.  Delighted that it comes in turquoise which goes with so many of my running clothes.   


5.  Asics 2150 DL Trainers:  Ultra-light shoes reserved for speedwork and race days.  I feel FAST when I wear these "pink ladies".  I think everyone should have a pair of trainers in their arsenal. 


Shoes of Christmas Future (Are you reading this Santa?)


1.  Asics 2160:  I'm holding my ground here.  This is an updated model of the 2140s and 2150s that have worked for me in the past.  I don't see why they wouldn't continue to work for me in the future.  


These come in white and blue or grey and plum.  I think I'm leaning towards the plum.  Only downside is that I have absolutely no plum colored running clothes.  On the upside, plum seems to be the hot new color in Sporthill and Nike running clothes this season.  I just laid my eyes on plum shirts and black and plum gloves.  I know, it seems rather shallow, but what's wrong with looking cute while running?  I think plum would make me look cute!  Plum it is!


It would be more economical to go with the white and blue since I already have so much blue in my running wardrobe.  How many running shirts and pants does a girl need though?  It's not like they get stained, stretched out or worn out.  These outfits, much to my chagrin seem to last forever!  They might develop "the stink" regardless of how you wash them, but these babies will last decades!  Maybe I'm in a rut though and would benefit from a new "power suit" to get me to run that coveted sub 4 hour marathon in 2011.  Pretty sure the plum would be up for the task.  :-)  What do you think dear readers?  I'd love to hear your color opinions.

2.  Asics 2160 Trail:  Here we go again with the Asics.  I just love them!  They are comfortable and supportive.  They provide enough traction to prevent slipping in mud, wet rocks, or other trail obstacles without being heavy and clunky.  I'm sticking with these babies but need the updated model to replace my well loved 2150 trail.  Benefit of these are that while they're meant to be a trail shoe, they can be worn on the roads as well.  For those combination road and trail runs, they're perfect.  I can just see these babies taking me through hundreds of training miles on trails and if I dig really deep, I can see them getting me through my first 50K trail race sometime in the fall of 2011.

Happy running! Protect those feet!