I had to. The last pair of running shoes I bought were from four years ago. I was way overdue for a new pair and so I bought these from my former place of employment. They were having a Mother’s Day sale so I got about ten bucks off the pair.

Now, I like New Balance, but I’m Horribly Flat-footed — which would probably explain the plethora of stress fractures and join swelling/pain… — and most of the motion control shoes designed by New Balance (and most/all other companies) are Ugly! Not only are they Ugly! but they make me feel like a Clydesdale (no shit, I get the cloppity-cloppity noises accompanying me) when I run. They’re also usually designed for, well, let’s just say “the heavier kind of runner” and since I’m only 5′4″ish and 133 lbs, these shoes feel like cinder blocks on my feet. I put the aforementioned new shoes on and they felt fantastic, looked fantastic, had the right amount of bounce, and were incredibly light weight.

But.

They weren’t motion control (for Horribly Flat-footed Persons) and in a fit of denial I bought them and wore them anyway. For a month.

Several ouches later, I finally admitted defeat and returned the shoes for a pair of Adidas. My old pair were Adidas and, as you can see by the post I made about them, I was pretty darned happy with the choice. And they weren’t even motion control, so that’s kind of impressive. The new ones are designed for my little problems, and while they’re not as pretty as the New Balance shoes, they’re not too terribly ugly. They’ll be arriving in the mail in a couple of days. I hope I like them.

You know? This is a little off subject, but for a person who hates running as much as I do, I sure seem to be doing a lot of it lately.