I've never worn Mizuno before, but given their narrow last and my ginormous feet, I know it has to be a mens' shoe. It also needs to be neutral. I've got it down to two options:
1. The Ronin. A 7-oz shoe that seems a little less cushioned than my Kinvaras with a lot more heel-to-toe drop. Afraid the 10mm drop (compared to Kinvara's 4mm) might mess with my already disastrous gait.
2. The Universe, a crazy under-4-oz racing flat. This shoe looks awesome, and I might need some racing flats, but it also looks like a ticket to injury city. That's a skinny sole.
Also to consider: I just bought the Asics Speedstar, which is probably similar to the Ronin: lightweight, a little stiffer than the Kinvara, less cushion. I don't own any racing flats - although I feel like the Kinvaras do the trick. And I don't exactly tear up the track, so no big deal.
Help a girl out here. What should I pick?
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Is the Mizuno Precision Wave an option for you? I have a pair of those and find them similar to the Kinvaras, although they have less arch support (I have a really high arch), so the Kinvaras take the win by a slight margin in my book. They have the 4mm drop.
ReplyDeleteGoing from a 4mm drop to 10mm sounds like a pretty big change. That might not be your best avenue! I personally would go with the Universe! Run in 'em a few times. If you don't like them... psht. They were free! I used to run in their Wave Riders but changed to Brooks after battling with my ITB for a while. I haven't had any problems since switching, but I don't know if it was the shoes or something else. I was still scared to go back to them, so when I was called on for the Mezamashii thing I picked the Wave Enigmas. Mostly because they were purple. lol That way if I run in them a few times and don't like them, I still have some kickass purple shoes to wear as an everyday shoe.
ReplyDeleteIs the Mizuno Precision Wave an option? I wore them briefly before I tried Kinvaras. They also have a 4mm drop, and seem very similar in all ways except the arch support is not quite as high. I have high arches and tend to get a huge blister towards the front of my arch when shoes don't have the right support there or don't fit in quite the right way. For that reason the Kinvaras won by a slight margin.
ReplyDeleteWe seem to have similar taste in shoes - LOVE LOVE LOVE the kinvara, LOVE the speedstar that I got because they were very cheap, love them. When I got into wearing Mizuno, I was a little nervous about the difference in heal to toe drop, but it has not bothered me at all, I've been running in them for a couple months. I really like the musha, have you thought about that? I tried the ronin and did not care for them at all. Very stiff and nothing like the speedstar or kinvara, in my opinion. I'm not a huge fan of the wave riders, and haven't tried any of their heavier shoes. I think I'm like you in that I'm just more comfortable in a lighter weight shoe. I havea the precisions and probably wear them the most on my daily runs. I noticed the biggest difference as far as heel to toe drop in those, but have gotten used to it. Those are my thoughts:) I love the musha and think they are the closest to the kinvara, and are somewhat a racing flat, but not quite as extreme as the universe. Good luck picking!
ReplyDeleteI definitely wouldn't go with the Ronin since it would be basically going in reverse if you are already running in a 4mm heel drop shoe. Is there anything close to the Kinvara that Mizuno makes? The Universe sounds interesting, but you probably should only run in it very rarely since that is basically like not wearing shoes.
ReplyDeleteI got the Mizuno thing too but I think my hubby is going to use the free shoes. I am super happy in my Brooks, plus none of the Mizuno's are what I want (light weight, zero to very low heel to toe drop, etc.) The Universe are the ones I would have gone with, but they would be just for trackwork, etc.
ReplyDeleteDang I didn't look at heel to toe drop. I went with the ronin's. Oh well. I have run in Miz's for years. I got the email invite months ago and am glad I am not the last to get on the mezamushii wagon. Let's just say my invite was lost for awhile - before I even got it so it's not completely my lack-of-organization!
ReplyDeleteI like the racing flats. Plus the colors are better, and that is clearly a good reason to get them.
ReplyDeleteLol! They DO look pretty snazzy...
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