by Carissa
Don't tell my running shoes but they're no longer the only ones in my closet. They have the right to be shocked since I've had the same approach to running shoes for years now. My routine was as follows: go into a running store, get fitted by a sales person, and buy whatever shoe was recommended for me based on my pronating feet. Sometimes that meant buying a shoe I didn't particularly like the look of. But that's what every good runner does right? Function over fashion was a strict rule in my running shoe rule book. Five hundred miles later I was back in the store for a new pair.
This summer I found myself with a Nike Employee Store pass (a SWEET benefit of living where Nike is headquartered.) Since I like living in running shoes and since my shoes typically get dirty/muddy/you-name-it over the course of running 500 miles in them, I thought it would be nice to pick up a pair of running shoes just to kick around in. Not to mention, it was about time I got to pick out a shoe based on what I thought was cute! As I browsed the selection of shoes the
Nike Free 3.0 caught my eye and piqued my interest. This shoe is the closest shoe to barefoot running that Nike makes. I was completely naive to the barefoot running movement until I read the book
Born to Run. After I read it I was curious about my shoe and how the heavy support was impacting my body.
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| Nike Free 3.0 |
The sales person at the Nike store explained that there are three types of Nike Frees each with a number that represents the level of support the shoe gives. Nike Free 3.0 offers the least amount of support, 4.0 is the in-between, and 5.0 is the most supportive. As with all minimalist shoes, the sales person warned me that I should ease my way into them. I figured if I was going to buy a minimalist shoe I might as well buy the most minimalist shoe, and you'd better bet I was going to try running in them. So much for keeping them clean.
