Shoe Crisis

Last week I finally decided that I needed new shoes for the CIM. I started wearing my current pair in the beginning of October, and I have about 250 miles on them. They still have life in them, but I thought it might be good to do the race on a fresh pair. So, I went ahead and ordered my trusty Mizunos at Road Runner, and they arrived last night.

This morning, I put my insoles in them and tried them on. They feel different. I compared to my last pair, and they are about a half inch thicker in the sole than my last pair. They look bigger on, and the toe looks different, too. I panicked.

My current pair of shoes is my third of the same model. The first two were the #8, and the current, #9. Nothing seemed to change between these except the color, which was an improvement. Apparently, the #10 is a complete redesign. Not good less than two weeks before the race.

I completely fell into crisis mode. I decided I needed to wear new shoes, but I didn't count on the shoe being different. I can break them in before the race, but a redesigned shoe seems like a gamble. But is it more of a gamble than wearing shoes with less than half their useful life left? Are the new shoes more of a stability shoe? Will they be clunky like the New Balances I tried a few years back? Will they slow me down?

John looked them up, and the update got an award from Runner's world. They are still under 10 ounces, and have additional cushioning to make them not feel stiff (like the New Balances). I'm a little less freaked out, but still trying to decide if I should wear them in the race. If I am, I need to break them in staring today (and I'll have around 30 miles on them for the race). But if I don't like the redesign, I'm out of luck if I've worn them. And stuck wearing my current pair on race day...