Shoe purchase: stay with old or go minimal

I need another pair of trail shoes so I can give my other pair a break. At the same time, by doing this, it will extend the life of this current pair. I usually alternate between shoes.

I have used New Balance, just because that is what I'm used to using. I would rather stay with NB for consistancy. I have been looking at the 876 as the new addition. But if I go minimal, I would use the 101 or whatever is the "intro" to minimal running since this would be new for me. Yes, I am aware to work gradually into the minimal running shoes to give muscles a chance to adapt.

So my question is this: Should my next pair be minimal or the "old normal" shoes? Is it personal preference?

Thanks for helping me make this decision.

Red Rock/Ellen

I think it's personal preference, but I find that I have a hard time switching between styles of shoes (besides trail to road). Once my foot gets used to something new, the old shoe style just doesn't feel right any more. Right now I'm in the NB WT101s for almost any run, and I'll switch to a Saucony Kinvara for road runs over 6 or so miles, but I have an older but little-worn pair of Saucony something-with-more-support road shoes and I hate them now. I tried to use them on a few longer runs to see if they would help with some minor tendonitis issues and they did nothing for the tendonitis but just felt terribly awkward.

Thanks Jess, I was wondering because of the whole minimalist movement and this would be an opportunity to move in that direction. My legs will be better for it as well.

Red Rock/ Ellen

I love them for road. I have Vibrams I use for dance class. Kinvara's for walking/running. Regular shoes now hurt my feet. Kinvara is the minimalist shoe from Saucony. I have other Saucony's but now I cant stand them on my feet. They have too much support. I could not use the Vibrams for road running. They did hurt a little too much.

I partially blame my ankle sprain last Summer on a pair of semi-bulky trail shoes. I'd been wearing Mizuno Wave Ascends, which aren't even far down the bulky spectrum, but the heels on those suckers are still pretty hard and unyielding. When I would land on roots hidden under leaves my foot would sort of see-saw on top of the root, instead of absorbing it...yeah, landing on a root in a more minimal shoe would have made the bottoms of my feet sore, but my ankles would have been protected more.

If/when I get back to running trails I am definitely going to look at something a bit less structured. NB's recent offerings intrigue me, in large part because NBs have generally fit me better than anything else (I have very wide feet).

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Originally Posted by Red Rock

Thanks Jess, I was wondering because of the whole minimalist movement and this would be an opportunity to move in that direction. My legs will be better for it as well.

Red Rock/ Ellen

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Well, you know what I would recommend...minimal (or even barefoot) all the way! Just work into it gradually.

If you buy New Balance check out joesnewbalanceoultlet.com, they have factory seconds and previous year models at a big discount.

Yeah, that was what I was thinking. I think I will go with the NB 101's. It looks like a good intro shoe. Now I have to put an order in someplace.

Red Rock

I also prefer the "barefoot" running style, where the foot strike is from the center to the front of the foot instead of the heel. The style makes a lot of sense to me. My running shoes are a pair of lightweight Nike Free's. At home I am always barefooted.

I've switched over totally to the Saucony Kinvaras. Love them - especially the colour (hot pink). Had tried the Vibram but don't use them as much; mostly because they are a little tricky to get on and I get too impatient. Funny, after wearing the Kinvaras for about a year, the 'old' Saucony shoes seem so heavy and clunky.

Interesting thing - the old shoes were for stability, heel protection, etc., yet in the last year I haven't had the heel bruising or plantars fasciitis that seemed to be always lurking before.

I only have about 8 miles in my Altra Intuitions yet so I want a few more miles before I give a full review.

They're not minimal, they've got some cushion, plus they come with a choice of insoles and I'm wearing the insoles that have a little bit of supportive shape to them. But what they do have is zero heel-to-toe drop, and wow.

I've had Achilles trouble on and off for, like, ever. Nothing major thank goodness, but a lot of annoyance and often, a lot of stiffness whenever I've been off my feet for more than a few minutes. I wondered how I'd do with zero drop. It sure felt good running around the LRS in them and NOT having to choose between smacking my heels with every step vs. running on my tippytoes to get those stupid big heels off the ground, but I didn't know how that would translate to miles on the road. I've read plenty about the need to transition gradually to zero drop because of the risk of straining the Achilles and calves.

So what do I get after each of two four-mile runs in these shoes? A little sensation in the Achilles early in each run. And afterward? ZERO Achilles pain. Like, ZERO. Like, looser than I can remember them ever being after a run.

Wow.

Just my own little experience... I am in the middle of switching from Asics Nimbus 12 ("puff clouds") to Mizuno Precision 12 (not minimalist, but getting close to that end of the spectrum: extremely responsive and flexible, far less cushioning, no crazy big heel). The running shoe store woman suggested Brooks Ghost 4 as an intermediate step on the "less support" spectrum, but I really wanted to go all the way. And ditch my custom orthotics!

I wanted less shoe because I felt like a lot had changed since my Nimbus days. I've lost about 10 pounds (I'm short, so that means a lot!). I've been working *a lot* on form -- to the point where I can now adjust my stride to correct for pain during a run fairly easily. I haven't been injured in 3 years. I've made corrections for my Morton's Foot. And I just wasn't convinced all that padding was working in my favor. So I thought I'd make a change.

After 2 track workouts in the Precisions, I've noticed...
1) The way the shoe is made makes it nearly impossible to strike with my heel. Yay!
2) My times are significantly faster -- about 30 seconds per mile if I'm doing 1600s. Yay, again!
3) I feel much more sore in the thighs after, and also have some achilles and right ankle soreness. I'm hoping that improves.
4) I have no pain during my runs. None!
5) My feet feel like wings, and I absolutely love running in them!

I would love to wear them for longer runs, but I afraid of injuring myself by changing too much at once. (I'm in the middle of HM training, and my "shortest" long run over the next month is 6 miles...)

I think it's worth a try, but listen to your body. For me, the change in heel height is pretty significant and I could see it being a real problem if I can't contain my eagerness. Good luck!

I'm in the process of trying to transition into my Vibrams and it's very hard. Most noticeable things are the calf soreness and blisters under the ball of my feet from lack of padding. Some people have ankle pain because they lack strength there too.

Make sure that if you do decide to take the plunge, you start out slowly. As in, give it about at least 2 months to be able to run 3 miles in them, unless you have previous exposure to running barefoot or minimalist. It is very tempting to run longer in them, because you honestly feel lightweight and faster, but don't do it :P I did a 4 mile run my first time out and could not walk for a week.

I will say that it corrected my running in that I can midsole and front-feet strike even in my structured sneakers now.

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Originally Posted by Caddy

Make sure that if you do decide to take the plunge, you start out slowly. As in, give it about at least 2 months to be able to run 3 miles in them, unless you have previous exposure to running barefoot or minimalist. It is very tempting to run longer in them, because you honestly feel lightweight and faster, but don't do it :P I did a 4 mile run my first time out and could not walk for a week.

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Absolutely, take it slow when transitioning, but what counts as slow is different for everyone. After two weeks with the VFFs, I was doing about a third of my runs in them, going 6+ miles at a time. I had never run barefoot or minimalist before-- but I've always walked around barefoot as much as I can get away with. But then I'm a Kentuckian!

Thankyou for all of the recent comments, thoughts and transition advice.

I still have not "taken the plunge" to get these shoes. Right now it is a money issue. I'm still unemployed, like many. I'm hoping that will change someday. There are many things I would like to purchase, shoes being one of them. Gosh, even purchasing off of TE would be wonderful. But they will all have to wait until I employed again. That or they become Christmas and Birthday gifts.

Red Rock

Mine were a Christmas gift. :) I did not take it slowly enough so I strongly urge anyone to transition very slowly. If you still want to get your mileage in, do it in your other shoes, but take your time transitioning to the minimal shoes, especially if you area flat-foot runner. That's where I injured my ankle, switching to running on my toes in the vibrams.

I got them for Christmas, and by mid-February I had stress fractured my left ankle. I took a month off for it to heal, which wasn't long enough. I immediately injured it again. Since they were expensive I wasn't going to give up on them yet. I waited a couple months, then tried again, this time taking it very very slowly. I ran only ten minutes at a time, with a few days in between. I increased to 15 minutes. Any time I had any soreness or discomfort I backed off and took several days off.

This morning I ran for 50 minutes!