A New Wave

I motivate myself to run in a variety of ways. I sign up for a race. I go look into my dog’s pathetic eyes she guilt trips me into it. I make a new workout playlist.

One great form of motivation for me that comes around less often is trying out new running shoes!

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while now, then you may know that my go-to running shoe is the Mizuno Wave Rider. I’ve previously purchased three pairs (and I mentioned them in my post about my favorite running gear), so when I learned about a partnership between Mizuno and FitFluential, I immediately expressed my interest and signed up to participate in the campaign.

I was awfully excited when my new shoes arrived today and took them out for a five-mile run around my neighborhood with Sadie. I caught her fighting boredom by sniffing the metal rods of our pool cage and figured a run would make her happy.

I initially got hooked on Mizuno Wave Riders when I started training for my first half marathon. I was running in Nike Shox (remember those!?) when I developed some serious blisters and shin pain. (I now understand that certain shoes are running shoes and others definitely are not.)

Following the advice of one of my running buddies, I visited Track Shack, a local running store in Orlando, where someone watched me run and asked me a bunch of questions.

They recommended I try a pair of Asics that didn’t feel quite right and then suggested the Mizuno Wave Rider and it immediately felt fantastic. While I knew buying the Wave Rider was the smart thing to do, I had a hard time spending some serious money on a shoe that I thought was pretty darn unattractive. That has always been my biggest complaint about Mizunos – they just aren’t that cute – but I buy them again and again because they really are a quality running shoe. At least this new maroon/fuchsia pair is cuter than the Wave Riders of the past!

I completed my first half marathon training in the Wave Riders and when they wore out I bought another pair… and then another after that. While I love trying new brands and gravitate toward shoes with fun colors for circuit workouts and strength training, when it comes to running, I’ve been a loyal Wave Rider girl since 2007.

My first five-mile run in these shoes went well!

My calves were quite sore, but that’s not the shoe’s fault. I blame the hills in Oregon! I went on two runs while staying in Jacksonville last week (one with Sandy, Dara and Sommer) and since I’m used to very, very flat terrain, even the slightest hills seriously engaged my calves. I guess they’re still recovering!

Lunch

After my run with Sadie and an important conference call, it was time for lunch.

I made myself a salad topped with roasted butternut squash, tomatoes, a sliced MorningStar Farms spicy black bean burger and balsamic vinaigrette.

Plus a few handfuls of rice Chex cereal that I had leftover from my pumpkin spice puppy chow that I ate while waiting for the butternut squash to roast in the oven.

Time for a few hours of studying!

Question of the Afternoon

• Do you own a pair of shoes designed specifically for running? Are you loyal to one brand? Any favorites?