I have been not happy with my other running shoes and have had too many pairs of running shoes this year that have become closet shoes.
You know the shoes that runners put in the closet and might or might not ever see the light of day again. If they do – it is usually to become something other than running shoes or be thrown in the give-away box after while.
As a result, I have been researching what running shoes I want to try next. Isn’t that the story of my life as a runner – always looking for that “perfect” running shoe?
I found a pair that I really wanted to try and they were one of my Top 5 shoes to look at last February.
Small problem – life got in the way. The truck developed a leak in a transmission line and needed a new brake calipers, so getting a new pair of shoes is out of the question for now – TheWife is understanding, but the budget can only take so much. I had to come up with an alternative plan.
My alternative plan
Look in the closet to see what was still in there, that might be useable for about a month. I “found” my old Newton Gravity’s and thought about them.
Back in May, I had to perform surgery on my Newton Gravity’s, to stop them from biting into my ankle. Before I could run in them, after the second surgery, TheWife got tired of my whining, washing bloody socks and told me to go get another pair of running shoes – I did.
Last week I got to thinking, the Newton’s only had around 170 miles on them and except for the ankle biting thing, I really liked them. The few times that I ran in them, after “fixing” them, they didn’t bother my ankle. I had thought about adding the Gravity’s back into my shoe rotation before, so I decided that I would try running in them for the week.
Great Decision
Once I started running in them again, I remembered why I liked the Newton Gravity so much. Especially since they were not rubbing my right ankle raw anymore!
By the time I got to the 5th run in them this week, I was running better and just felt comfortable running in them. The Gravity’s reward me for landing correctly, I can tell when I am not and they just make me feel faster than other shoes I have been running in this year.
I did a video to compare how I run in them versus other shoes and I feel different running in the Newton’s and yes it is better.
It is so great that the Gravity’s are working out this great for me right now. I have over 220 miles on them and while there is some wear on the soles, it isn’t very bad compared to other shoes I have had at this point.
The wear shows me, that I am still toeing off, instead of lifting. The video show that I am over striding a bit when I pick up my pace. I feel pretty good about my stride and form when I am running in the Gravity’s.
This means when I go running shoe shopping next time, that I am planning to look closely another pair of Newton’s in addition to a couple of other shoes, which I hadn’t been planning to do before this week.
I haven’t decided which style of Newton’s that I will be looking at, but it won’t be the Gravity’s – the open mesh uppers don’t work for me. Running on dirt roads, shoulders and ditches around here, little pebbles find their way in, which can be distracting and painful. Also it is getting closer to cold weather and open mesh uppers don’t work real well during Maine winters 
.
The reality is that
I was very frustrated with the Newton’s back in May, but I am glad that I was able to customize the Gravity’s and also that I kept them! They don’t rub my right ankle raw and have become a very comfortable shoe for me now.
The added advantage to being able to run in the Newton’s is that it gives me a little time to get the budget back to normal and do some more research on which running shoes I should look at next.
Let’s see…it time to fire up the browser and start searching for new running shoes again, maybe this time I will find that elusive “perfect” running shoe…I can dream can’t I.
Could it be the Newton’s or will it be another brand of running shoe – hard to say?
What do you think?
What style of shoe should I be looking at?
7 comments
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adam Y
September 16, 2012 at 9:07 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Another veteran runner here. After 25 years of ASICS, I bought a pair of Sir Isaac’s 2 months ago and have gradually been phasing them in. I have a 100+ miles on them and survived my longest run (9.5) without too much calf pain, which has been a real problem for me. I’ve been alternating these with my traditional shoes GT2170 but am looking at getting either a 2nd pair of Newton’s (possibly the Gravity although they are really expensive) or a lower profile shoe from another brand. I am still guilty of overstriding at times and have not been able to get my cadence to the desired 180 but have been able to run much faster in these shoes (almost 15-20 seconds per mile) which has been a pleasant surprise. Judging from the wear, I am probably staying off my heel 80% of the time, but often miss the lugs and am going too much forefoot. It’s a process and I am still struggling with how much of the advice I am going to take as having long legs and a long stride is an advantage I don’t want to entirely give up. In any event, what your video proves is how hard it is to judge in fast motion how people strike. I have downloaded an app called slo-go on my iphone but have not used it yet to truly see how I am running. Hopefully soon.
Harold L. Shaw
September 16, 2012 at 9:14 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Adam – I like my Newton’s a LOT since my shoe surgery on the plastic heel counter. They are my goto shoe and I do run faster in them than I do others I have run in. When I get tired I tend to revert back to heel striking, but in the Newton’s I feel the difference and correct it more quickly than I would otherwise. Videoing how you run is good, but I don’t have the smart phone so I don’t have access to that app, maybe I should look for sports software for the my PC to actually look at how my form is – thanks for the idea. I will be interested in hearing how you do.
Adam Y
January 2, 2013 at 5:09 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Well, it has been months but recent posts to your blog inspired me to report back. Back in September/October I had finally made what I thought was the full conversion to the Newton way (despite clearly struggling with the required cadence) as my calf problems had abated and were a thing of the past. I followed your advice and bought another lightweight shoe as a companion (Brooks PureFlow) and was strongly considering coming out of racing retirement as my workout pace had dropped considerably by 20-30 seconds per mile. Before a workout might start in the low 8 minute range before ending in the 7:50 area. Now I was running 7:30-7:40 without making any extraordinary effort.
Fast forward to October and I have a meeting in SF. Only shoes I took were the Newton’s. I didn’t bother taking a calf sleeve…that is how far ‘over it’ I was. On Day 4 of the meeting my wife joined me and so rather than going outside we just decided to workout in the hotel. At the very end, I decided to hop on the treadmill just to get a quick 15-20 minutes in. It was very uneventful and typically slow as I always am…never liked the treadmill. But at the 13:30 mark I had to come to an immediate stop. Something went seriously wrong in my left calf. No slowing down, or altering the rhythm. This was IMMEDIATELY STOP type of pain. My wife is an LMT (yes, I am very fortunate) and we thought this might be a 3-4 day thing.
Came home and after resting, icing and more massage went out but after 2 minutes it was clear that I wasn’t ready. This went on for a full 10 days before I realized that I better do some research and see my ortho. Both ended up confirming that this was a 5-6 week deal and essentially the best I could do was ride a bike and maybe some elliptical on a trial basis.
By the end of November I was able to start again, and actually ran 90 miles in December, ending the year with a nice 9.4 miler in 7:45 pace. But I have not had the courage to put on the Newton’s and am not sure I will do it any time soon.
Quite frankly, watching the weekly Newton video’s and critiques of other people’s form have me questioning if these people even know what they are doing. I think they are kind of making it up as they go along and we are their lab rats. But at 55, I don’t have too many more 7 week vacations in me and the sad confession is that I have bought a pair of traditional ASICS GT-2000 which are heavy and not fun to run in. But I feel safe in them and have again been able to ditch the calf sleeves. I run in my Brooks when I feel like going a bit faster, but the Newton’s just sit there in the penalty box.
Am I ready to do those drills before the run? Am I committed to forefoot running and making sure my hip flexors fire, while landing softly and shortening my stride? Part of me wants to try it again and chalk up the injury to a treadmill fluke. The other side of me wants to take those shoes and throw them in the bay.
We’ll see what happens. Thanks for indulging this rambling.
Happy new year.
hshawjr
January 2, 2013 at 8:17 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Adam – Wow that is quite a lot that happened, I am glad you are back to running and really sorry to hear that you were injured and on the shelf for such a long time. Sometimes I wonder if the small differences in running style that running a treadmill requires is just enough to cause injuries when we are not used to them?
The Newtons are a good shoe, but they didn’t really work for me and are too expensive for my pocket book. Minimalist shoes don’t work for everyone and I have run the best I have all year in more traditional Mizuno’s. However, I stayed with very light shoes which seem to work well for me and recently got a pair of PureFlows on clearance – which I have liked so far, but will have a ways to go to supplant my Eixir’s or Ronin’s.
You don’t have to run in Newton’s to do the drills or run with a shorter stride, more compact arm swing and higher cadence. From what I have read, I tend to believe that running this way can be done in almost any shoe and will help reduce injuries and let you run more easily. I still land too much on my heels, but I am not worrying so much about my form, but more on running compactly and relaxed, which seems to be working for me.
You might want to pick up a copy of Pete Larson’s Tread Lightly, it has a lot of great information in it and I really like what he said though towards the end…
“run in what works for you.” I think sometimes we get to caught up in the technology, hype and marketing involved with running shoes and forget those words of wisdom. However, finding what works can be a long and frustrating journey. Glad you are back
Pav
December 29, 2012 at 11:49 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I found your blog while considering my next pair of running shoes. After learning the hard way that shin splints lead to stress fractures and the fact that I was running all wrong in the wrong kind of shoes, I found myself in a pair of Newton Gravity’s (blue / silver) this past summer (2012). I had built up to 6 – 8 mile runs and put 140 miles on them. I absolutely loved them and was running comfortably (forefoot) with short strides and faster than ever w/o even trying. They were the first pair of shoes that I was able to run in w/o any issues. Well, that is, until I over-trained and started getting 2nd metatarsal pain in my right foot. So, after 9 weeks off and building back up with a walk / run mix @ 3 miles in my “normal” older running shoes, I’m trying to decide whether to put the Newton’s back on (they aren’t too comfortable for walking), try another brand, or maybe try out the Newton Distance? What are your thoughts? I see you are in Mizuno’s now, I’m just curious why you left the Newtons? Thanks
hshawjr
December 29, 2012 at 12:23 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Pav – I have found that the Newtons either really work for you or they don’t. I had a lot of problems with the way the hard plastic heal counters dug into my right ankle and had to perform surgery on the offending shoe. When I looked at this year’s model, it felt about the same, so I decided to look elsewhere. So far I really like my Mizuno’s and am running very well in them. I don’t have to work on changing how I run – I just run in them, which is all I want to do. Another brand that you can try is the Altra’s, a lot of my online friend use them and love them. I am still trying to figure out why they bother my hamstrings when I run in them and believe it has a lot to do with how I paw-back, instead of lift my foot in my running gait.
Good luck – finding the running shoes that fit you correctly is often a long and drawn out process and just when you find the ones that you like the manufacturer changes it
I don’t like recommending a particular shoe for someone else. It just depends on too many variable, I can only say what has worked for me.
Pav
January 2, 2013 at 2:30 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Glad to hear the Mizuno’s are working out for you. I understand not recommending a shoe because everyone is different. That is weird that you had to do surgery on your Newtons and felt like you could have the same issue again with a new pair, especially since they changed their shoe and the sizing is a little more correct now. The only change I felt like mine needed was the toe box was too large, and could be reduced in size. After doing some research and running in my old Newton Gravity’s the other day, I decided to go with the Newton Distance this time. Can’t wait to see how they work out.
Happy Running!