St. Patrick's Day Virtual 5K Race in NEW shoes!

As you know one of my running resolutions for this year is to run 13 races in 2013. Luckily Jill and Jen started this challenge and I am so happy to be a part of it! To help us all reach our goal, Jill and Jen are hosting several virtual races this year.

So far I have participated in all of their virtual races thus far. Tackle the Miles was the last one I ran.

This month I participated in the St. Patrick's Day Virtual Race! I was so excited because I so wanted to wear some fun St. Patty's Day run gear! You know it's all about the outfit, right?!

I headed out for my run like any other day except I was dressed in St. Patty's Day gear AND I was running in a new pair of shoes. I love my Asics GT-2170's and they have been discontinued. As soon as I learned they were being discontinued I bought a couple of pairs. Well..sadly this is my last pair of my beloved shoes. Asics has updated the model to the GT-2000 but I've heard varied responses on whether they are comparable to my GT-2170's. So I am going to enjoy these shoes while they last.

I don't know about you but I HATE getting new shoes. It always takes me a few runs to break them in. I know they say you shouldn't have to break in a new pair of shoes (especially when it's the same model you wore previously) but I always do. New shoes are always tighter on my feet and I always have to retie them a thousand times to get the fit I like. I like my laces super loose when I run. I also feel like I run a little different when I get new shoes. I'm sure they are rearranging my gait a bit since the older shoes have worn down and my gait follows. 

I also usually have some kind of weirdness that happens with new shoes. For instance, I've had my right foot go numb the first few runs in a new pair. I've felt like I was running heavier in another new pair. My hips were super sore after running in another new pair. These things always work themselves out after a few runs in the new pair of shoes but I still dread it.

So I wasn't really looking forward to this run because I knew it would probably feel awkward. I started running and could immediately feel the difference in the run. The new shoes felt great! I realized how bad my old shoes actually were! I looked down at my Garmin and saw that I was running pretty fast...I guess the new shoes were making me speedier too! 

Around the halfway point of the run I started feeling a small stab of pain on the top of my right foot. Here we go. I kept running and prayed it would go away. It wasn't an enduring pain....just a stab every so often. So I ran through it. 

I made it to the 5K mark, stopped, and looked down at my watch. 29:56! That's the fastest 5K I've ran in a long time! The new shoes helped me go fast!

The rest of the day my right foot felt weird. I waited to see what it felt like the next day...and it was fine. I analyzed it and decided that I had laced my shoes too tight. So the next run I did I loosened the laces and never felt that pain again. But of course now it's in my mind...and every run I focus on that foot hoping no pain arises. Ugh! 

The St. Patrick's Day Virtual 5K was a speedy success...despite the achy foot! And don't you think the outfit is too cute??? ;-)

QOTD: Do you like running in new shoes? Have you ever had your favorite model be discontinued?