I tend to be faithful and loyal, but I cheated and I liked it.

I cheated on my Asics, the brand I used since I began running.  Granted, it wasn’t that long ago but for three years all I’ve owned are Asics Kayanos.  I have severe overpronation and each time I go to a running store, they recommend the Kayanos and I’ve been through at least two generations of them.

I’ve wondered if those were the shoes for me, but at a price tag of over $100 I couldn’t really afford to take the risk.  Cue in Mindy at Road Runner Girl and Mizuno’s Mezamashii Run Project.  Through both of them I was able to get my hands, feet into a pair of these:

the Mizuno Wave Alchemy 12.  I was told by a very nice person at Mizuno that these would be the equivalent to the Asics I currently wore.

I read up on the technology behind underneath the shoe. I understand the concept of a Wave and how Mizuno studied different sorts of waves: sound, tidal, etc. to design a way for a shoe to disperse energy as your feet hit the ground.  This research was then transformed into their wave technology included in the Alchemy 12.  More than that I would not be able to explain correctly but thankfully I have this handy link for you.

The marketing part of all this is the Mezamashii Run Project.  Mezamashii in Japanese means “eye opening” or “brilliant” and Mizuno is on a quest to deliver a brilliant run to dedicated runners out there.  I was game.

Of the three triathlon sports, running is my weakest.  I struggle through it, and am generally slow (or at least slower than I think I ought to be by now) so “brilliant” and “run” seemed impossible to place in the same sentence.  The first time I used the Mizunos was on a fifteen mile run.  It was a date night run with my hubby.  The biggest difference I felt immediately was that the Alchemy was significantly lighter than what I was used to.  It was such a big difference I thought the nice guy at Mizuno might not have known what he was talking about and recommended the wrong shoe.  Yet I also did my own research and could’ve sworn I did it right.  Fifteen miles at my speed is ample time to debate these things.

I was afraid that because it was so light, the Mizuno Alchemy would not be giving me the support and control I thought I needed and I would land, once again, a case of plantar fasciitis.   To my surprise, none of that happened and I have been happily running in my Mizuno’s since without an inkling of plantar.In Florida, we are entering the running season with our local ING Miami Marathon at the end of January.  I will be doing the half marathon and my training includes many fartleks and bridge repeats which I don’t normally do.  My coach is adamant that we should have different types of running shoes for different types of workouts.  My budget is adamant that I only have one.  So I wonder if there are other varieties of Mizuno’s that are better for speedwork (hint, hint). Though I am completely sold that the Mizuno Alchemy is what I need for longer runs.  My “cheating” on my old running shoes have totally opened a new door for me, one where I can put the words “running” and “brilliant” next to each other.  Thanks Mizuno!