New Balance 1123's (R.I.P.)

May 2012 - November 2012

Well, after 200+ miles and thanks to my youngest brother's very timely birthday gift, the time has come to retire my first, true pair of running shoes. As I mentioned when I first got them (post here) they really made a difference in how I run and how frequently. I also mentioned a while back (here) that I was starting to see and feel signs of wear and tear but I just could not buy another pair because, quite honestly I just didn't have the money.

Well right before the cruise, my youngest brother gave me a pair of brand new shoes in the hopes that I would use them during the Castaway Cay 5K. Well, that was not gonna happen. As I explained to him, there were two things keeping me from doing that: 1) Never use new shoes for a race. This is part of the whole "never do something you haven't tried before during a race." thing. 2) While a cruise is definitely about luxury, space can be an issue. You have to pack for formal night, semi-formal night, pirate night (yes, pirate night) so you got to be careful how much you pack. I wasn't about to take the 1123's either. I needed something versatile I could use to run and sightsee. I settled on these:

My mom gave me these a couple of years back. I have used them mainly for walking around Disney World and I have worked out once or twice in them. I found out, while researching what shoes to replace my 1123's with, that these are in fact, women's trail running shoes. Hey, I didn't know. Apparently neither did my mom. (unless this was her attempt at humor) I got lost while running through the Disney World Resorts in these shoes. Ended up in an employees-only area at 5:30am. We have a history, these shoes and I.

But, Alas, they are not proper running shoes for every day use so I save them for cross-training (something I should be doing by now). The 1123's on the other hand, were crying for mercy. During the Give a 5K for Diabetes, I could really tell they were on their last legs. The bottom of my feet were hurting and that had never happened before. Since I had read that running shoes can last up to 500 miles I thought they would last longer but they ended up giving me a little over 200. Apparently, carrying almost 100 pounds extra takes a toll on the wear. Plus, those first miles I ran, I dragged my feet a lot. I will miss them. Goodbye New Balance 1123's...

Hello Brooks Beasts!

I have been told by many that these shoes are built like tanks in terms of their wear and durability so I'm looking forward to trying them out this week. In terms of looks, they are way louder than my previous pair but not the "I want to kill myself" neon colors I see so often. I'm not sure I love the spaceship silver color but I'm excited to try them out. I will let you know how they work out when I give my weekly report.