Another shoe change: from stability shoe to, dare I say it, neutral....

Everyone who follows this blog knows I've pretty much run every mile of my running life in the Brooks Adrenalines, from the 4s to the 9s.

They've carried me through hundreds of training runs, six marathons, eight half marathons, and dozens and dozens of shorter races.

Followers of this blog also know that while I love the Adrenalines, I've always felt like something was amiss and from time to time, I'd go into the running store and get fitted for another shoe. I ran El Scorcho in Adidas Supernovas. Hated them. I ran a 2008 half marathon in Asics GT 2120s and did three months of solid training in them. But I suffered the only significant injury of my running life in the Asics and had two sit out for two weeks. Then last fall, just a few weeks before Portland, I tried some Mizuno Waves. Too much cushion.

So, I figured I'd have to settle or the Adrenalines for the rest of my running life. But after my experience with the Adrenaline 10s, where it felt like I was running in too much shoe, I knew I had to do something different.

Usually, when i walk into a running store, the salesperson sees my flat feet and puts me in some kind of stability shoe. I mean, I have a slight arch, but the salespeople don't really notice it. So, the "shoe" formula says flat feet get big old bulky stability shoes.

But I've also noticed something else. All the fast runners around me, or most of them, all wear neutral shoes. No medial postings to get in the way. Nothing stopping their normal running motion. I've always known that the more efficient you get as a runner, the less "shoe" you need. One blogging running friend, Christie, has sworn off running in support shoes, "bricks," she calls them.

Along with becoming more efficient, I've also lost 20 pounds in the last 2.5 years from running.

So I decided to try a neutral running shoe. Say hello to Etonic Praya 3 NC

I actually started having "an affair" with my new shoes last week, ditching my Adrenalines in the corner of my closet. On March 1, I did a mile on the treadmill, just to make sure they were going to be okay in case I needed to exchange them. I ran a tempo run with Team Rogue in the Etonics on March 4, and then I ran each of my four legs at the Texas Independence Relay in my new shoes.

The verdict: The Etonics have replaced my Adrenalines as my every day shoe. And I'll never wear a support shoe again.

The shoes gave me no problems during the relay. It didnt feel like I was fighting my shoes. I'd been having some hip pain before the relay, but afterwards, even though I was running 10k pace for most of the relay, I forgot I had hip pain.

I usually buy my running shoes with 2E width. But the store didnt have any 2Es and so after my run Wednesday morning, I felt a little hot spot under my right foot where it rubs against the sock liner. (Funny thing is I had no issues with this during the relay.) But this is the shoe my feet should be in - a neutral shoe, and there is nothing that a wider size can't fix.