Tuesday, August 7, 2012

It's not me, it's you

I've been going through a tough breakup recently. I've been going through denial and not accepting the fact that this 4+ year relationship is over. The situation has consumed my thoughts for the past few weeks and has nearly given me sleepless nights because of it.

I'm breaking up with you Nike Lunar Racers.

There, I said it. Finally it feels like I've come to terms with the inevitable, finally I feel a load off of my chest for acknowledging this reality.

Backup for a moment, how have these shoes captured my heart so strongly?


2008 I was looking for a lighter shoe than whatever I was wearing. I did some research and was intrigued by these super light almost minimalist type shoes, so I bought them and took them out for some short runs and fell head over heels in love with them.

They were light (5oz I believe), so flexible, and my feet seemed to really enjoy them. I trained almost exclusively in them because I loved them so much. Perhaps it is psychological, but there is a HUGE difference between a 5oz shoe and a 10+oz shoe, especially in distances over 10 miles.


My Lunar Racer 2's and I have run every race since 2008 together. Half marathons, 5ks, 8ks and 4 marathons have all been run with the lunar racer 2's. As you see, we go way back.

Enter the Lunar Racer 3


I was so incredibly bummed that the newer model of my beloved Lunar Racer would revert back to the original model as opposed to my 2's. I'm sure I was in the minority on this. lunar racer 2 and 3 are totally different shoes.


(green 2's, red 3's)

The 3's are cut much more narrow and the feel is just completely different than the 2's. I begrudgingly gave the 3's a chance and didn't like them. So I did what any sane person would do, I bought a few more pairs of 2's in order to hold onto this dying relationship.


Almost 250+ miles later, I need to retire these shoes. One of my only cons for these shoes is that they do wear out quickly because of the soft sole (the other con is being Able to feel every pebble, pavement etx because of the soft soles). So I have been frantically trying to figure out what to do for my marathon in 5 weeks.

Distance running shoes are like a long term relationship. You need commitment and trust which is something not earned overnight. after 17 half marathons and 4 marathons, I know how my feet will feel in these shoes.

My only option


I've been running in my Mizuno Wave Elixirs for the past month and have logged over 100 miles on them- including some 15+ milers. I am not convinced that they are a "shoe in" for my BQ attempt marathon except I have no other option available.

5 weeks is not the time to switch brands completely. The Saucony Kinvaras intrigue me as well as some pairs of Asics, but I haven't ever run in Saucony shoes and it's been years since my last pair of Asics. I Know firsthand how shoes can cause injury- my first year of cross county was injury plagued thanks to some terrible reebok shoes.

With 39 days to go until game day, I need to pull the trigger and get a fresh pair of kicks.

Last night while wearing the Elixirs for an easy 7 miler, I decided that it's time to move on from my Lunar Racer 2 heartbreak and learn how to trust another shoe again. We've run as far as 18 miles with some goal marathon pace miles and had a fun time together.


So here it goes- Mizuno wave elixirs, will you be my go to shoe? Will you carry me to the finish of marathon number 6 in 39 days and marathon number 7 in 60 days without any significant blisters or discomfort?

- xaar

25 comments:

  1. I don't understand why a company would change a shoe so much from one version to the next. I assume they know how much trial and error runners go through to find a shoe that works for them, so why make significant changes??? That just seems stupid. Good luck with your Mizunos.

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    1. Im sure a lot of people were pissed when they changed the original to the one I like... These companies should know that their "improvements" might cost them some fans, but I think overall the consumers won't complain as much and just switch to another shoe within the brand.

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  2. I was an Adidas running shoe fan for about the last three years. I liked the extra toe room. However, I was continually having shin problems. So one day I went to Fleet Feet and ran with several competing shoes on the treadmill concentrating on how my shins felt in the shoes. I liked the Mizuno Wave Inspires (I bought a bigger shoe size to make up for the toe room) and have had little to no shin pain since (knock on wood)! I guess sometimes making a shoe change can be a good thing. Good luck to you and the Wave Elixirs!

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    1. I'm glad you have a success story! I'm starting to think that these shoes might be the root of some shin and calf issues I've faced over the last year or 2. I know that they cause blisters on my big toes (as evidenced by last nights tempo in the LR3's) the mizunos seem to not give me any problems. Just too stubborn and stuck in my ways to change it up until forced to!

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    2. Blisters? Ouch. Hope they aren't too painful. Well at least the Mizunos fit both of our running styles well!

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  3. I love this post and I so relate to what you're going through! It's really hard to pick and commit to a new shoe for a major running event, especially since it takes some time to figure out if any shoe works.

    From my end, I've been doing my long runs in a pair of Asics Gel Cumulus 13s which have been fabulous. But they are going to have too many miles on them by the time the Chicago Marathon rolls around. I've already got another 5 pairs of other running shoes (non-Asics) in my closet with varying miles, so I'm reluctant to buy another pair of Asics now. But I'm also not thrilled about having to pick and adjust to another pair of shoes in the next two months. Argh!!!

    In any event - I wish you and your Mizunos a long and happy relationship!!! And I have a good feeling about your Mizunos. =)

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    1. You sound a little like my bf. he has at least 5 different pairs of running shoes- all different brands and is never really a slave to any particular model.

      I hope you find something that you like for the marathon- less than 2 months away!!! :)

      I'm excited about the mizunos now- I think I was in denial about all of the nikes less than awesome characteristics.

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  4. Fingers crosse for you! I know how traumatic this change can be so hang in there and keep positive ;)

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  5. I hope the Mizunos work! I used to wear the Brooks Adrenaline (completely wrong shoe for me, btw) and people were complaining about the changes from year to year. It does not make sense when they change them SO MUCH. Ugh.

    Also - my 50K is the day before your full and I did not realize it was so soon until you said 5 weeks and mentioned the countdown. Ahh!!!

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    1. Looking at it more rationally, I think the nikes might be the cause of my shin problems I've had. They also cause my big toes to calluse- blister, something the mizunos haven't done. Perhaps they were never the right shoe for me :)

      I wish I was doing the 50k you are doing. It looks like soooo much fun!

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  6. Give the Kinvaras a try - they're soft, flexible, and lightweight, so they may be close to your lunar racers. And I regularly get close to 1000 miles on them!

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    1. Holy 1000 miles!?! They are now at the top of my list to try post marathons.

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  7. Good luck with the shoe change. I think they will work out for you for your race. I did a shoe change real close to my marathon last year & thankfully I went injury-free. It seems a lot of Nikes I have put my feet into (well, maybe 2 pairs I got) this year have been insanely narrow.

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    1. I'm encouraged by your shoe swap story :) I think the mizunos will be better in the long run. Haha

      The Nikes are getting super narrow and I don't have wide feet!!

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  8. OK, I have the kinvaras, and I love them ... but my feet do not. The toe box is not big enough and my freakishly long middle toe was getting totally screwed up. My nail is black and it's just not cute. I ended up buying another pair of asics, but I'll try the kinvaras again in a bigger size and hope for the best.

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    1. You must really love those Kinvaras :) the nikes cause my feet some minor issues which multiply into bigger issues as the miles tick by. Perhaps I'm in denial about them being so awesome :)

      Hopefully a bigger size works better for you.

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  9. Good luck! I know the shoe stress can be huge. I hope these work for you. I used to be a nike fan too and now have to run in saucony.

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    1. Gotta love the whole psychological side to the sports we love. When did running become so complicated? :)

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  10. Haha so glad you and your man didn't break up, you totally had me fooled with this post :)

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  11. I know exactly how you feel! I've been running in Saucony Kinvaras for over a year now. Their recent 'upgrade' to the 3s did not make me happy. I've stockpiled a few pairs of the 2s, but once those are done, I'll be on the hunt for another distance trainer. Hope the Elixirs make you happy!

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    1. Oh goodness! Why on earth do these companies have to change their popular models so much? I hope you will find an even better replacement for your Kinvaras.

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  12. Bummer that your favorite shoes are no longer the right model! That always sucks when they screw with a shoe in the wrong way - this is way back, but I had to stop wearing the Asics 130 series because they changed it, and it became the Asics 1000 series. Then I started wearing the Asics 2000 Series, until they changed that one too, and so I switched to the Mizuno Wave Nirvana. Now I'm on the New Balance 890 series and like it.

    Brazil vs Mexico was indeed awesome! Wembley stadium really is a palace. I was excited to see Neymar, I thought he just did okay, I was expecting more special things from him. Your analogies totally made sense, I took espanol in high school, lol! Nada!

    The marathon was indeed amazing to see up close, besides the Kenyans, I thought the Brazilians and the Canadian's had the best races by country. Dos Santos of Brazil ran a courageous race, taking the lead for a while, then running by himself forever in 4th, before finally fading so Meb could catch him for 4th place. I was proud of Meb, and bummed that Hall and Abdi had to drop out. They announced them dropping out at the same time, and everyone around me looked at me since I was the only USA fan in sight, lol.

    Cheers to the runner from Uganda indeed, he looked so happy coming down the finishing straight. I'll do some summary posts on the Olympics soon, likely I'll devote an entire post to just the marathon, since I know people on here love running.

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  13. And I definitely agree, it is a great idea to watch sports at the Olympics that you don't know about, fun to discover new things! I discovered that badminton is amazing to watch live!

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  14. Okay, last comment, you mentioned that you may go to Rio 2016 Olympics. I remember you saying that you weren't a big fan of big crowds when you talked about Lollapooza. At the Olympics, pretty much everywhere you go there are massive crowds (especially at the venues). I'd say I'm good with crowds, and by the end, I just got a little tired of huge amounts of people everywhere, and having to go through aiport style security at every venue that we went to (though I see the need for it). Just as a heads up so you know what to expect.

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