Picking the Right Boogers

It's that time again, unfortunately where I have to get new running shoes. Man does time fly when you have to spend money! Even when you try to put it off as long as I have. (Read last post)

OK, so why the booger title? I promise to explain in a bit. There is a reason, I promise.

While compared to, say... cyclists, runners have it pretty good in terms of affordability of their chosen obsession. Running shoes however, can get really expensive really quickly. This has been a hard issue for me not only because I'm poor, but because I'm used to measuring my footwear longevity in terms of years not months. Now that I have been buying running shoes for a while it has become pretty clear that 6 months, if I'm lucky, is the most they will last. 

We hardly knew ye. Despite having almost 300 miles on them, they look pretty good.

 In fact, I have decided to buy two pairs of shoes. My logic being that if I spread my mileage between two pairs I could stretch their use to a whole year before I have to buy new ones again. Maybe its wishful thinking but worth a shot. I'm still spending the same amount of money but at least its not as often. I figured I can use one pair for longer, easier runs while I use the other for shorter, faster runs.

Viola!

So, I ordered another pair of Beasties which were awesome! Size 14. Got them in a different color just for the sake of variety.

Brooks Beasts 2012. Shoe porn for your pleasure.

 Along with those, I also got a pair of Brooks Addiction 10's, another Motion Control shoe. They are size 15.

Brooks Addiction 10's Size 15. I think I'll call them "The Junkies".

I need to make a comment here. I like to buy local and try to support my local running store. Actually I bought a hydration belt there recently but it has become pretty hard to buy shoes from them. Why? They never seem to have shoes in my size which is odd because you would figure that since motion control shoes are for, among other things,  larger runners, they would stock them in larger sizes but I tried getting my previous pair there with no luck. I gave them some time to order some and they didn't until finally my baby brother (weird calling him that since he is almost 7ft tall) gave the Beasties to me which he ordered online. Now, when I bought the belt I asked them about shoes and again, they didn't have the Beasts but he showed me the Addictions which he had in size 14 but they were too small (hence I ordered them in size 15) so for the second time, no running shoes at the running shoe store.

So I went online where it was recommended I try Zappo's and sure enough they had both shoes I was looking for, finding and ordering them was super easy and shipping was free, even here in Puerto Rico where that kind of offer is often not included. Sweet.

The Beast is the top of the line motion control shoe from Brooks and they have earned their name. It's like wearing tanks in your feet. Very tough. it wasn't a tough decision to buy them again. The Addiction is, for all intent and purposes, a step down from the Beasties but I have read very good reviews about them and when I saw them online, they came in all black which I love. Not flashy at all. They look even better in person and fit great. They are also a bit lighter despite the larger size. I'm looking forward to try these. After I use them for running, I wouldn't mind using them to replace the "Girlies" which are getting a bit old.

Beast: Old vs. New

OK, so why boogers?

Well, I wear motion control shoes. It doesn't get any more geek than motion control when it comes to running shoes. They even look geeky compared to other types that look cooler for some reason. So, looking to make motion control shoes sound cooler I was messing with connecting the words. Like when Southern California is called SoCal or something like that. So Motion Control = MOtion + COntrol = MoCo.

As it turns out, "moco" in spanish is slang for booger. Regrettably, when you experiment sometimes, the patient dies. 

There you go. So remember, when going to the running store, pick the right boogers. Ha!