I'm looking through the shoe porn lining the walls, and I'm counting the many shoes I either have owned, or currently own and run in. I see my precious favorite, ultra-light and flexible Brooks Pure Flows, my tried and true Nike LunarFlys, and the New Balance Minimus Trail (MT101). All are perennial favorites of mine because they have no more than a 4 mm heel-to-toe drop, are extremely light (less than 9.3 oz) and flexible.
And then, I lay eyes upon THIS:
The massively bulky, unquestionably heavy, all-encompassing, support-laden, molded, melded and minimalist trend bucking Mizuno Wave Prophecy.I actually started laughing out loud upon seeing this monstrosity on the shelf. It took a little effort, but I managed to get it picked up off the display rack.
A lead bowling ball is what it felt like. About that comfortable to wear, I imagine as well. As an advocate for "less shoe" in my running footwear, I absolutely fail to see what cave Mizuno must be living in if they expect the general running population to buy the very antithesis of what the minimalist movement stands for. While I certainly understand that runners come in many shapes and forms, trying to hammer out training miles in a shoe that weighs nearly double what most conventional trainers weigh today, is a questionable strategy by Mizuno.
I will admit that the shoe does look nice from the sheer aesthetic perspective. The color choices are sharp and distinct, and heck, there are many of them. Of course, the shoe has so much, well, shoe, it's easy to incorporate alot of colors into it.
Next time you find yourself in a running store, see if they carry this puppy and take a look. If you ate your Wheaties for breakfast, you may even be able to actually pick it up.
I tend to not like the gel Mizuno uses for cushioning as it does feel very heavy on the foot. I try them on occasionally, but I've never even liked them for a few minutes.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a minimalist shoe advocate. I don't mind cushioning and support, but I do think it can be overkill as well and I can certainly see what you mean with the weight of these shoes - it'd kind of be like wearing cement shoes...I have enough of my own weight to carry around without adding that much more on my feet :)!