Trivial Matters

With a new triathlon season comes a new pair of shoes. This is always the hardest part of training for me because I have such a weird foot pattern and running style. My feet have a high arch, but I over-pronate to compensate. As I run, my knees will actually knock into each other, which is very distracting to say the least.

There was a couple of stores in Virginia Beach that specialized in finding the right shoe. One of them was a triathlon store (the same one where I got my tri-bke), but I never got fitted for a pair of shoes there. I’ve heard that there are a couple of stores like that here in Portland, but the winter storm has curtailed my shopping this weekend.

I found the website for one of the stores out in Tualitan, and they had an online fitting guide. Based on my profile, there are about forty shoes in stock that should work. Of course, I have no desire to spend the day trying on forty pairs of shoes. So, instead, I’m cross-referencing their list with the retailer’s suggestions from their website.

Nike is a match on the Zoom Structure Triax+ 11. ASICS matched on the GT-2140. New Balance had no matches between the two sites, but I may try a couple of pairs anyway. Adidas doesn’t offer a profile system on their site, but there are only two coming up on the shoe store’s site to start with. And the Pearl Izumi’s are a bit on the expensive side. Finally, Saucony’s website has a profile system, but only deals with under-pronation (legs moving outward). In the “neutral” setting, I got a match for the ProGrid Paramount model, which tells me that I should probably avoid that one.

Living down the street from Nike World Headquarters, I’m tempted to just go over there and have them measure my feet. They do it for Tiger Woods and other sports celebrities, so why not for a local guy just looking for a decent pair of running shoes.

Oh well. I guess I’ll just wait the storm out and maybe head over there after Christmas. Google has a listing for a triathlon-specifc store in NE Portland, but I can’t pull up their website. I think the TNT info meeting is over that way, so I may just venture over early that day and see what I can find.

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