I remember working in my parent's ice cream shop one busy summer night, and overhearing my two Irish coworkers (we employed a good number of Irish students who came to work on Cape Cod each summer) talking about buying new runners.
Teenage Me: "What the heck are runners?"
Irish Lad & Lassie: "These", as they pointed to their feet.
Teenage Me: "Oh, you mean sneakers!"
Irish Lad & Lassie: "Do you sneak in them?"
Teenage Me: "No, you run in...oh."
Sneakers is indeed a silly term for shoes that you exercise in. I wanted to start a trend amongst my friends when I went back to school in the fall and call them runners, but I was no trend-setter. So sneakers they remained.
Fast forward to when I went to college in Ohio and people referred to their sneakers as
"running shoes". Well that's a weird term, thought College Me, but running shoes was better terminology than sneakers, though two words was a little much to say. Sneakers they stayed.
Then I met Phil. I heard him refer to his sneakers as "tennis shoes". Ummm, what now? I figured it must be a Southern thing. Phil reminded me that he is not from the South, and I reminded him that where he grew up in Maryland is indeed south of the Mason Dixon line, so look who snagged herself a southern gentleman now!
Later some coworkers from the midwest called them "Tennys" which is the slang term for Tennis Shoes, and apparently not a southern thing at all. But for reals...tennis shoes? Because who even plays tennis that often to have a pair of shoes dedicated to one sport? Excuse me, Andy Roddick, you are most certainly allowed, but personally, the most tennis action I see is when I mutter to myself "I get zero love" around here.
So sneakers they shall remain.
All that was to say that I need a new pair. I write too much.
When I was training for my very first half-marathon, I went to a sports store and the owner came out and watched me walk, looked at the insides of my shoes, asked me a bunch of questions about my training and form, and recommended these Saucony's:
I loved them so much and kept buying the same pair, in varying colors, every 6 months or so. Did you know that sneakers have a mileage life? I used to think sneakers were crazy expensive, but then I realized are so worth the investment because it's the only equipment you need to run and a good pair will protect your feet and knees, hips and back.
Speaking of knees, I started having some issues off and on with my knees and read about Brooks shoe designs and how many knee-pain-sufferers recommended them. So I tried this pair, and maybe it was just all in my head, but they did seem to help!
Matching sneaks! They weren't the prettiest pairs, but I had found a great deal and price > pretty any day. The same styles they make now are mucho bettero looking.
Recently I got this pair, an upgrade in the cuteness department, but I'm having some hip pain with my runs:
I'm not sure if it's possible that the sneakers are just not the best support for me (they are a little lower than I had been used to) and I've tried to stick with them but I think I need a new pair. I'm most likely going to go back to Sauconys, maybe this pair? I heard the 8's weren't that great but the 9's are sweet.
Does anyone have a good sneaker/running shoe/tenny/trainer suggestion for me? I'm all ears feet :)
We call them tennis shoes in Nebraska! :) I ran cross country avidly in high school and I looooved my Sauconys most of the time. I've never tried Brooks before! We have a little mom&pop running shoe store here that does a great job of looking at your feet/stride/arch and then telling you which shoes are good for your feet, so I'd recommend finding one of those if you can - totally changed my running game especially after babies because my joints were all out of whack.
ReplyDeleteMy husband calls them gym shoes! We still argue about it and I try to keep his Illinois ways from corrupting the children who will forever and always know them as sneakers if I have anything to say about it. (But no recommendations, sorry!)
ReplyDeleteTennis shoes here in N.C. but my M.A. husband calls them sneakers! I have given up running so no advice from me. I hope you find the perfect pair!
ReplyDeleteAnother Nebraskan who calls them tennis shoes! My DH is from Kansas City and that's what he calls them also. I've been running in Brooks Adreneline or Nike Lunarglides. They are both "stability" shoes which keeps my left knee happy plus a little on the narrow side which I also need.
ReplyDeleteI love my Brooks Adrenaline. I have worn them for years and upgrade every so often to the latest version
ReplyDeleteBlast from the past here, I was just reminded of how I use to refer to them as tenny's when I was younger. I call them sneakers and tennis shoes. How funny to hear what others refer to them as. When my girls were on the mission trip this past summer, they met high school kids from mostly the midwest. They could not understand the boy from Wis who referred to a bag as bag with long a sound. They had no clue what he was asking for ;)
ReplyDeleteOh, this is too funny! The first time that I heard them called tennis shoes was my husband and his family although we grew up 2 hours apart in PA. I called them sneakers and continue to do so :)
ReplyDeleteTennis shoes is totally a midwest thing, it's what we grew up calling them. In the UK, they're called trainers, which is kind of like runners, but for some reason I prefer trainers to runners. Maybe you and I can try to set the trend again ;)
ReplyDeleteHmm, I usually call them sneakers, but I guess I sometimes refer to the pair I run in as running shoes.
ReplyDeleteI love my Saucony guides. I didn't like the 8s, so I bought an extra pair of 7s on clearance and have been using them for a while. I've doctored some tendonitis in my hips. I wear berry Superfeet, which I think helps, or may just be a $50 placebo. I hear good things about Hookas for hip and knee pain, but also hear they fit differently than Sauconys.
When it came to it, I thought my copay for PT was well worth the money to get me over the worst of my hip pain. Good luck.