How to find the perfect running shoe. (Sometimes you just need to ask for help.)

I don’t know if I have officially announced this here… but I’m excited to say that I am going to be running a 200 mile relay race from the Calistoga Beverage Company in Napa Valley, across the Golden Gate Bridge at midnight, to finish on the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. There will be 12-member teams (we have 12 bloggers running in our Eat. Blog. Run.) running 36 legs (3 legs per runner… I’ll be running 7, then 5, then 3 miles) through 36 cities. The course will take us through ranches, vineyards, and along the ocean blue! And – the best part – we’ll be running for Organs R’ Us.

So I’m very excited… and very nervous. I wanted to do something to challenge myself this year. After all, if you’ve been reading my mother’s blog, sister’s blog and seeing us all tweet – you know that practically my WHOLE FAMILY – mom, sister, 2 brothers, 2 sisters-in-law and my husband(!) have all been running/biking/swimming over the last 2 years non-stop! Being a former athlete… I wanted to get into the action and fun. So with the help and motivation from some good friends (thank you, Christine and Allison), I’m getting my BUTT moving!

The first thing on my to-do list was to Find the Perfect Running Shoe.

I have to say, the sneakers I started using on January 1st were off the rack, $19.99 Nike sneakers from Kohls. I didn’t know if they were good. I didn’t know what they were “known” for. I knew nothing. I just thought… Nike… yeah, that’s a good brand. Bought them. Done. And was super excited about “stealing” a pair of Nike’s for $19.99. (I honestly thought they priced them wrong.)

Well… after running 4 times in them, I knew why they were only $19.99. They were AWFUL! My feet killed after about 2 minutes. I had blisters. I couldn’t feel the bottom of my feet. It was just a BAD experience. So I realized… not all running sneakers are created equal. These may work for some, but… not for me.

So… my husband brought me to a local specialty store in Rhode Island, Camire’s. It was like the sea parting… sneakers and running gear everywhere. I don’t know why I was so opposed to heading into this store weeks before, I kind of felt – you only enter if you’re a “real” runner. I’m not a “real” runner – I’m trying to be one. I think I thought some sort of alarm would go off when I entered making it clear that I have never run a marathon-type-race in my life. I was wrong. WAY wrong. The place is a mecca for people looking for running/biking/sports gear. Small and intimate… but full enough where you get what you want and need.

The customer service man took one look at my feet – knew my size without asking – and asked me to walk back and forth so he could see how I walk. I told him my one condition was that I wanted something “cushiony” (he smiled). He brought back a variety of different sneakers – ironically enough, all Nike.

I slipped on my Nike Max Motos and was in love. Honestly, it was like putting on my wedding dress in the boutique and just looking at my mom and saying, “This is the one.” That was how I was like with my Max Motos. They were my “girls.”

So the moral… and the advice. ASK A PROFESSIONAL. I was killing my feet for a week and a half, and I just knew I needed to find a place where I could be told what kind of shoes I needed. I was at one store (which will remain nameless) and the young kid said to me, “Well, don’t you know if you have flat feet?” No, really… I don’t. It was refreshing to go somewhere and have the “guy” know what to look for and to know what to sell to me. That’s what I needed. I didn’t want to hurt myself with the “wrong” shoes.

So… drum roll, please… my latest loves – My Max Moto’s…