Running with Jack

I had a rather non-traditional Thanksgiving dinner last night: a baked Sauerkraut & Spaetzle casserole and a green salad. I even splurged and had a danish that my wife picked up for the occasion. The food tasted great, but alas it did not replace what I really dreamed of, turkey with all the trimmings. Luckily Mia had some extra turkey, pumpkin pie and sweet potatoes for me, so I feel better ;-)

On the way home from work last night I took the streetcar to my wife’s work and we walked down the street to the new shopping mall in Karlsruhe. I needed a new pair of running shoes, so we took our time and looked through all the sports shops. Finally I went to Runner’s Point, the same place I bought my shoes last time. Their prices are slightly higher, but they offer personal consulting by semi-expert sales people. The marathon-running dude that was there last time had the night off, so I had to deal with his Nordic-walking coworker. She did seem to know her running shoes.

The salesperson went through a round of questions with me, how much I ran, what kind of surfaces, was I training for any events etc. to get a feel for what I was looking for. I showed her an old pair of my running shoes that I had brought along and she was able to quickly spot where I landed with my feet (heels). Then she had me take off my shoes and socks and run on the dreadmill. She filmed my running for a minute or so and then we took a look together. She noted that I do land on my heels, but not as directly as some runners. She also noted that my ankle bends just slightly outwards when I land. This is also revealed in the wear pattern of my old shoes. Her recommendation was a shoe with added support to try to help keep the ankle aligned and with thicker heel support. This was not a revelation for me, but I was satisfied that she reached the same conclusion.

I tried on several pairs, running with each one on the dreadmill. Finally, much to the relief of the salesperson and my wife, who were waiting with varying levels of patience, I settled on the Asics Gel GT2100.

These new shoes offer the following features (the most no one has ever heard of):

- Impact Guidance System (sound cool huh!)
- Two-piece SpEVA- middle sole
- Personal Heel Fit
- DUOTRUSS System (no idea)
- DUOMAX Support Element (I think that is the heel padding)
- Visible GEL Cushioning System in the rear foot area (I see lots of padding, but no GEL?)
- Twist GEL Cushioning System in the forward foot area (it is flexible)
- DUOSOLE
- DURASPONGE
- SpEVA-55° Lasting (I think that has something to do with the tread)

Anyway here is a picture of the new babies:

While we were there I looked at cold weather running pants and tights. I was a bit shocked at the price of the thermo running tights (around $60 US). I tried on a couple pairs, they felt light and fit well. My wife must have been in a Christmas mood, as she picked out a pair and told me this was my Christmas present along with the shoes. So I can’t wait to hit the trail tomorrow morning with my new running “friends”!