Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Yo Mike, It’s Gotta Be The Shoes

Most of us have seen the Michael Jordan and Spike Lee commercial where Mars Blackmon emphatically tells MJ that his greatness is because of his shoes.  No it’s the shoes (the shoes?), it’s gotta be the shoes!
Well Mars, it’s not the shoes that make one better, but the shoes can have a positive impact.
Since I have started running I have gone through several pairs of running shoes.  Shoes that have got me through long training sessions,  shoes that have left me standing at the podium collecting medals, shoes that have recorded fast run times, shoes that have had bad runs, and shoes that have had bad races.  We all know that simply putting on a specific pair of shoes will not make you run faster or jump higher, but having the right shoes can make a difference in your overall comfort which could lead to more enjoyable experience. 
 Now, what if your shoes have a little flair and a little cosmetic pop to them?  Can that make you faster or better?  From a physical point of view the answer is no.  From a mental point of view I think it could provide that little extra confidence in a person.  I have been known to say that I prefer performance over fashion.  As I stared at my pile of shoes I noticed that with each pair I get there is a little more snap to them in terms of which color of LOCK LACES I choose or the color of the shoes themselves. 
 I don’t know why my running shoes' cosmetic appearance has changed from the run of the mill look to a more snazzy appearance.  Maybe, it’s to be different, maybe it’s to standout from the crowd, or maybe it does make me go faster.  When I switched from Brooks running shoes to Saucony running shoes in April I it was purely for comfort and performance.  Although I loved Brooks shoes my running style changed and I needed a different shoe with a 8mm heal-toe offset so that is how I landed with the Saucony Guide 5. 
What, they have blue shoes?  Sweet now I’ll just get some green LOCK LACES to compliment the blue.  It is out of my box to stand out and be different.  I generally like to blend in, do my thing, and go home.  This new look of running shoes was a change for me.  Not only were these blue shoes (with green laces) different from the crowd they for some reason gave me a little extra confidence.  That confidence drove me to being more mentally engaged in my training runs and races. 

So when the blue shoes were worn out it was time to get a new pair.  I knew I wanted the exact same shoe but the choice came down to color.  I had a few different options, including the same blue pair, but I went with Saucony’s new color ViZiPRO Orange/Citron/Blue.  Whoa these puppies are bright and there is no doubt these shoes present a little pop.  As always, I changed out the supplied shoes laces with a pair of green LOCK LACES.  As the running/triathlon season comes to a close and I head into a lighter winter training schedule it is hard to keep the motivation up.  Once I got my new shoes I was re-energized and motivated to not get into that late season slump. 

Yo Mars, maybe it is the shoes!

I mentioned LOCK LACES a few times in this post and they are on all of my shoes in the picture at the top.  This is a great product for any triathlete or runner.  You never have to worry about whether or not you tie your laces too loose or too tight and you never have to worry about them coming untied.  It’s a perfect fit run after run.  Another bonus is that they will save you precious seconds in Transition 2. Visit their website http://www.locklaces.com/ to learn more.

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