Nearly a month ago I mentioned that I needed some new running shoes. Well I finally made it into a store last night to get evaluated for a new pair. It’s always a long process once I get into a store, as the employees try to figure out what the heck is wrong with my feet and legs. The first pair I was given felt fine, but once I was on the treadmill it was easy to see that they weren’t going to work as I still had some major pronation occurring. So we moved onto to a series of four new pairs. Each of these corrected my stride very well and so then it all came down to a matter of personal preference on the fit. It came down to a pair of Mizuno’s, Asics, Brooks, or a new brand to me Pearl Izumi.

In the end I went with the Pearl Izumi syncroFloat III. I really liked the way they hugged my foot, giving a nice secure feel. This is due to the seamless uppers with webbing support where the fit comes through the laces, not the material around. I’m still not 100% sold on them, since I’ve had no experience with them before, so I took them on a test run at the gym. As long as I keep them inside I can bring them back to the store for a refund. I noticed some pain behind my right knee after about a mile and then realized that I forgot to put my heel lifts in the left shoe. I still couldn’t kick the pain during this run, but I’m hoping to give it another go on the treadmill before taking them outside.