My New New Balance

Although the title to this post may not make sense to you, I got a new pair of running shoes a month or so ago. They are New Balance shoes, so they are my “new New Balance.” I finally took them out of the box this week and started wearing them. They are the “883” model, which is apparently the replacement for the “882” that I have had for my last few pairs. This model (both the 882 and the 881) has a wider toe-box, which I really like because when your feet swell after a couple hours of running and walking, that extra room comes in handy.

I am in the breaking them in process right now. I walked several miles in them a few times this week, wore them at work for several hours a day, and went for a four mile mixed run and walk yesterday on a beautiful late November day – weather to be thankful for that Thanksgiving Day. I am going to train with the team tomorrow, and will probably not wear them. They are not yet broken in, and I don’t want to go six miles just yet in them. My feet have a few sore spots as the rigid parts of the shoes get less rigid. So I will wear my old “882’s”, which served me well in spring and in the half-marathon last April.

My old ones still have some life left, but I will not use them for mileages longer than five or so miles after tomorrow. That can be the job of my new shoes. Running shoes are so expensive, and I try to make them last. I wear them probably longer than I should. Even though my old pair still feels good, I notices the difference in cushioning immediately.

I really swear by these shoes. This model shoe (which was called the "880" at the time), as well as orthotic arch supports, have saved my feet season after season. I doubt I would have been able to do the marathon in Alaska in 2005 without them, nor the ones since. Despite all this, the neuroma finally caught up with me this year, and hopefully the injections into my foot will help with that. Even so, I am glad to have these new shoes, and am thankful for the new New Balance in my life.


Here are my original New Balance 880's after the Anchorage Marathon in 2005: