Shoes Arrived

Finally my shoes arrived through the mail after sending back the first pair because they were too small. My old running shoes are a size 28.5 but apparently Nike is keeping a smaller standard then other shoe makers. They're bright red and a little lighter than the other pair.

But what is a fun about a fresh pair of running shoes without a good injury! As this is the story of my life that marathon running comes with a serious package of injuries. Well, I might have been pushing my mileage build-up a little too hard by including hill-training and tempo runs which put a lot of stress on my calves and Achilles tendon. I felt the pain coming on so I slowed down and reduced my running to zero for one week. With proper care in the form of RICE (rest ice compression elevation) with an addition of self massage to improve blood circulation. The pain became much less after four days and was almost gone on the fifth day and I started with light stretching and jumped on the bike for some aerobic exercise.

So one week after receiving my new Nike Zoom Speedcage2 +  I was able to carefully run an easy-run which felt very comfortable. So this week only easy running for about 20K in total with the addition of one and a half hour on my static bike.

New Shoes

It’s time to buy myself some new running shoes. I’ve been running on the same pair of shoes for over a year now. They’re still good to go but it would be better to have some new shoes with proper cushioning because next month my weekly average will (hopefully) go over the 40K mark.


For more than one year I’ve been running and racing on my Blue Asics GT-2140 which have helped me through two long winters .

They are still wearable but as I said I need better cushioning and lighter shoes for more speed. I was thinking of buying the same shoes again but I want lighter and always had good experiences on my Nike’s, so I went shopping for new Nike shoes.

I went shopping at Sports Authority and Alphen Sports in Ibaraki prefecture, Japan where I found the latest Nike models very appealing. However, none of the shops were carrying my size (28.5 cm) so I went home and searched the web for Nike shoes. Online shopping is also a great way to find user reviews and maker suggestions on any model of interest.

I chose the new Nike Zoom Speed Cage+ 2.

Which I haven’t been able to find anywhere outside of Japan. I have found another type of the Nike Speed Cage2 but it doesn’t have the + (plus) in the name, so I guess it’s different not only in color but also in cushioning and finishing.

I've placed my order and hope to receive them either tonight or tomorrow evening. But I remember very clearly the first time I took my new Asics GT-2140 for a ride on through the local park and enjoying the fresh bounce too much that I went too hard, too long, and too fast. So I hope to restrain myself this time and let my feet get used to them slowly.