Weather Blues and New Shoes

The weather outlook for tomorrow is bleak: rain at best, possibly snow. Not exactly what I’d like to run a race in, but I’m hoping that the bad weather may scare away the less hearty, and improve my chances of placing in my age division. I know I’m going to get wet and I’m OK with that; after ten miles in the rain a couple weeks ago, I shouldn’t even feel the rain drops running 3.1 miles. Admittedly snow or freezing rain would not be good. Not just because it would be a few degrees colder and thus a few degrees more uncomfortable, but because it might mean slippery footing. And slippery footing equates to potential wipe out–which I have done before in a race.

I wiped out going around the final turn towards the finish at a race a few years back. The thing is, it wasn’t raining…or snowing. It was a perfectly sunny day. I had a lovely swath of road rash down my thigh as a trophy from that race. Of course back then I was racing at competitive speeds, speeds that would actually create the potential for a wipe out. I have a feeling that I won’t have to worry about that tomorrow; intense speed that is. Although I have heard that SUV’s have trouble taking sharp turns because they are top heavy; I may encounter that problem.

If I don’t wipe out due to weather induced conditions, I may just run into something because I will be staring at my new shoes the whole race. Yes, NEW SHOES! I’m pretty psyched to try them out. They are a new shoe for me, a lighter version than I’ve been wearing for the past nine years. Ever since I started running races back in 2001 I’ve worn the same shoe: the Asics Nimbus. Only once have I deviated, to a pair of Saucony’s, and that had disastrous results: a muscle strain in the top of my foot. I would have gladly gone with the Nimbus this time, except for the fact that they retail for $125, and that is just a little out of my price range at the moment. So I shopped around, read countless reviews online and decided to try the Asics Speedstar III (on sale at a much more manageable $60). They are a similar to the Nimbus in their neutral cushion, but much lighter, a whole 3.1 ounces lighter. Reviews touted their lightweight cushion and their suitability for both speed and long distances. I figured if I kept with the same brand, Asics, I would avoid the injury issues I encountered before when I switched shoes. The only way I will corroborate this theory is to run in them. So I’ll test them out in the race tomorrow*.

I figure if I’m wearing shoes that are called “Speedstars” I have a much better chance of NOT falling if the weather conditions are adverse; “Nimbus” just sounds like someone who’s destined to fall on their ass no matter what the weather is.

*I’ve found that if you wear shoes that are properly fitted to your feet then you don’t have to “break them in.” I was fitted for the Asics Nimbus at a running store nine years ago, and have never had to “break-in” a pair. If you’re thinking about starting to run I would strongly recommend going to a local running specialty store (NOT a shoe store) where they can look at your feet and your gait and assess what shoe is best for you. You may have to pay full price for your first pair of shoes, but after doing so, you’ll know what shoes in what size and from then on you can order them online at a discounted price.