Sneaker Camps

I haven't been that knowledgeable about sneakers, tennis shoes, athletic shoes, running shoes, <insert whatever name you like to call them> for most of my life.  I don't consider myself an expert today either, but I do know a bit more about shoes than I did before I started running.

I knew there were shoes designed for various sports (soccer, basketball, tennis, running, rock climbing, etc.) but for the most part, I would go to the store, pick out a pair I thought looked nice that were in my price range and if they felt comfortable, I would buy them.

When I went to get fitted for running shoes, I had to change my approach.  For a good running shoe, you don't go for the one that looks the most attractive.  First, you have your feet measured and they check to see if you have any thing that needs to be addressed, such as pronation.   Then, the associate brings you shoes that will work with your foot type.

At this point, you hope they don't look ugly (or at least that's what I hoped), and you try them on.  Commonly, you're trying on a similar "best fit for your foot type and described usage" across several brands.  Your job is to put them on, walk or run around with them and then select the shoe that felt the most comfortable. 

Different people feel more comfortable in different brands.  As it turns out, I feel more comfortable in Mizuno.  My husband prefers Asics and my neighbor loves Brooks.   Once you start with a brand it's not uncommon to become attached to that brand.  In the past week I've been involved in two brand-centric sneaker conversations. 

The first was a lady who approached me in the park with my children saying, "Are those the Mizuno Wave Elixers?  Is that version eight or seven?  I like the colors of that version."  Okay, um, yes.  Wow.  Some people sure know their athletic shoes, right?  I had recently reordered the shoes online and as a complete point of luck, knew that yes, they were the Mizuno Wave Elixer 8's.  I'm not sure if I felt geeky or knowledgeable when I told her that.

The second conversation was last night when my father-in-law, mother-in-law and childhood friend discovered they were all wearing shoes that were not only the same brand, but same appearance as well.  They checked the numbers on their shoes and started talking about how the 830 model was out of production and that the new 840 was a good option.

Or at least it was something like that, I am sure I have the specifics completely wrong.  They were members of the New Balance Shoe Crew, and as a die-hard member of the Mizuno Members for Life group, I knew nothing of those details, we were members of different sneaker camps.

The Big Boy Update:  It was past bedtime and my son was about to read a book with Papa when he heard the "click" sound of daddy's iPad turning on.  He turned to Papa and said, "you read by yourself, I'm going to go watch daddy."  The iPad is a powerful toddler entanglement device and should be used with caution.

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  Birthday NO!  We were at a friend's house for dinner last night and at the end there was a birthday cake.  The candles were lit and my daughter stood on a chair and started singing the birthday song.  We weren't ready to sing yet as not everyone was in the room so we just smiled at her and listened to her.  When the rest arrived and the birthday song started in earnest, she got upset.  She looked around at all of us saying, "No!  NO!" until we were done singing.  It was very cute and somewhat inexplicable.  We can only assume she wanted to sing by herself as she started singing again once we all finished.