New Kicks!

First and foremost I must send out a thank you to the one and only Mrs. Skinny Runner for giving me a spot on her blog the other day!

Just an fyi, SR...I think you can officially say not only are you #1 a real runner (I'm not sure I'll ever be in the vicinity of an 8 minute mile) but #2, you are also skinny.  The "About SR" section isn't foolin' anyone! So congrats on being a skinny runner!

What Shoes do you Wear?

So I know it can be hard to find the perfect shoe to fit you so I wanna know how do you decide which shoes to wear on a run?  And why?

Los Shin Splints
For those of you who are new to my land of stressed-out and at times foul-mouthed blogging world, I'll have you know I have been cursed by, what I like to call, the Shin Splint Fairy.  He has been on a ruthless mission to make my running life a living you know what, and I must admit, has done a darn good job thus far.  I bought a new pairs of running shoes, eh let's say August? (wow, I didn't realize how long ago that was)...

and I must say these babies have been great to me.  They were with me over 5 months and conquered more than 200 miles.  Most importantly I successfully avoided encounters with the Shin Splint Fairy while running in these kicks, that is until lately...the ole devil found his way back into my life.

Apparently, people can run everyday and not have any leg pain (assuming they haven't increased their mileage too rapidly).  Well I just thought leg pain was normal, so when 3 different people, all in one week's time, got after me about getting new running shoes to rid my body of leg pain, I caved and headed to our local running store, Fleet Feet. 

The Verdict
So after walking around barefoot in an athletic shoe store (boy do I hope they disinfect their floors on a daily basis) it was decided that... I over pron-ate?  That's nice.  I'm not too interested in an official diagnosis, after all I think enough about nursing diagnoses on a daily basis.  Just tell me what shoe I should be wearing! 

Woman's Nike Dual Fusion.  Pretty comfy I must say.  No, they're not the exact pair of shoes Fleet Feet attempted to sell me, but hey, I'm a college student, I can't afford the fancy shmancy stuff just yet.

Dear Nike Dual Fusion, Please get rid of my Sad Shoe Blues
Last night was the possible Nike deal-breaker!  A planned "7 at 7" with Reese's would be in order to test out the durability and shin-likeliness of these new shoes.

(7 miles, at 7 p.m., get it? Get it?  Yeah, we think we're clever.) 

So!  The real test of shin-likeliness! Would the Shin Splint Fairy find me and rip my theory a new one?  Is is possible that a shoe can be SO comfortable as to protect me from shin pain for an entire 7 miles?

YES!  Lord almighty it really is possible! I ran for 7.5 miles and felt like a million bucks.

...It Gets Better
Not only was I shin-splint free, but I set a PR.  7.50 miles at a 10.30 pace.  I'm pretty sure there are 2 reasons this happened.

1.  The new kicks! Duh.

2.  "Conditions were perfect!"
39 degrees, 0.7765% humidity, and the wind at our backs.  The most amazing run I've had to date.

Conditions were perfect statement reminded me of this hu-larious video. Enjoy!