Life, Running, & Medicine.
Notes on life as I see it.

Thursday, April 3, 2008

New Feet: Nike Air Equalon+ 2

My Saucony Hurricane 8's have been excellent running partners the past few months, but alas they hit 400 miles just before the ING Georgia Half Marathon last weekend.  Before they totally go to the dogs I went ahead and made the investment in a new pair of shoes.  Previously I had only been a discount shoe shopper (got the hurricanes on discontinuation clearance for $60), but with my longer and longer runs and a marathon on the line I decided to get fit by the "pros".
 
I went down to Phidippides in Atlanta to get checked out by the experts.  I sort of had a suspicion I might be a pronator (given that most people are, and the suspicious wear pattern on my sole) but have never done any sort of critical analysis before.  I was never in love with my old Reebok's or New Balances, then some Asics came along that were nice at the time but mostly because they were slightly better than the NB's, then the Saucony's were here and I loved them.  They looked and felt a bit like boats on my feet but the cushioning and motion control were awesome... turns out its cause they are really good for pronators who like cushioning.
 
So playing total dumb with the salesguy/gait analyzer today my top two shoe picks were the Saucony Hurricane 10 and the Nike Air Equalon+2.  I honestly could not tell them apart from a cushioning standpoint.  The Nike has a metatarsal cushion that is noticeable but actually quite comfortable.  It aims to keep the metatarsal heads from crunching into one another.  The Hurricane 10 has a more low profile upper that is much less boat-like, and boasts a full-sole "progrid".  They were priced at $130 each.  Interestingly the rep had me up my shoesize by 1/2... I've always felt like a 9 3/4 size, but usually buy 9 1/2's.  The size 10 gives a little more breathing room for the feet, but still good support.  Also I was told I probably have a slightly wider foot than just regular, something I never thought before.  They say not really a full size wider, just that I need to be sure to pick a shoe that doesn't squeeze much.  The final determining factor was that the Hurricane 10's were same color as my current shoes and I wanted something new! [have also heard some warnings about getting too addicted to the same shoe]
 
We will see over the course of the next month or so how the Nike's pan out.  I will try to max out their life by keeping them on road and wearing the Saucony's still quite a bit, before they go the way of the Asics and get retired to the OR.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

let me know how these work out for you....i my self have flat feet and as right now debating whiter or not to go ahead and buy these.

Anonymous said...

I have recently tried and subsequently worn out a pair of nike elite 4 runners. It has a rigid plastic support along with dual density foam sole , so the motion control is great. When the sole began to really wear, I put a pair of sof sole inserts in them and got a few more km's from them. life of the shoe for me was 1100 kilometers !!! I know its more than recomended but the shoe held up great. justin