New Barefoot Running Shoes

New shoes!

Ever since I found out that Merrell makes a "barefoot" running shoe in a wide size I've been wanting to order a pair. They cost more than  a few bucks though so I longingly stared at them on the Merrell website for months before I finally shelled out the money and bought a pair. They came a few days ago and I love them. But I've had some issues.

When I put them on I could immediately feel that they were too tight in my mid-foot area - basically where they lace up, but the laces were as loose as they could get. They were definitely the right length though (and I thoroughly enjoy the spacious toe box) so I inspected the lace-up area and found that these silly grey straps were what was making the shoe feel so narrow (funny for a style that is supposed to be wide).

So I pulled the grey thingies out of the lace holes and put the laces through them on their own...much better. As soon as I did that, my right foot felt like it had arrived in the perfect shoe. My left foot is another story.

Ever since I actually started buying shoes in the correct size for my feet (after years of buying bigger sizes for the extra width), it has become very apparent that my left foot is bigger than my right foot. And it's kind of annoying. Especially with tight-fitting shoes like this. So my left foot isn't very happy with this shoe but my right foot loves it. It's only the width that isn't big enough on the left shoe - the length is perfect. I think I'm going to take them into the Wide Shoe Store and see if the left shoe can be stretched.

I have run in these shoes once. I did a mile and a half and I loved it. I naturally land on the ball of my foot when I run so I knew these would feel good to me. You're supposed to ease into them though so I'm back in my regular running shoes for the next couple of runs.