Give a girl the right shoes...

I LOVE this quote.

The right shoes. The RIGHT shoes. *sigh* This is like an epic spiritual quest for the holy grail. At least for me, it is. Not long ago, I thought I had found them. The ones. The perfect running shoes. Only to find after my last 12 miler, they were rubbing and constricting the top of my foot. Back to square one.

My husband thinks I have a problem.

These are all my current running shoes minus a couple pair I don't wear anymore but keep around for nostalgia sake. Those would be the pair I started running in and the pair I wore for my first marathon. In this picture, I have Skora, Brooks, Altra, Nike, Skechers and New Balance. Not pictured are the dozens of pairs I have returned. The two pair in the middle are my current training shoes, Skora Core and Skechers GoRun Bolt. Skoras for the trails. Skechers for the road. I thought I had found the perfect combination. I still LOVE the Skoras, but I can't handle the high mileage on the road in such a minimal shoe. The Skechers are the ones I mentioned before that are now rubbing and constricting the top of my foot.

I started in Brooks stability shoes, but I have moved in a more minimal direction. Their Pure line is great, but just not right for my foot. I have the Drift, the Cadence and the Connect, and I've tried the Flow. All with pros, but sadly too many cons for me. I went all the way to zero drop and zero cushioning with the New Balance Minimus. Trained for and ran my first marathon in them, but ended up with a couple lost toenails in those even with the huge toe box. I have my sights set on Boston. So, I need a shoe that will go the distance without killing my toenails. The Nike Free Flyknits feel great for short speedy runs and errands, but the drop isn't quite low enough for me. The Altras next to the Brooks above, 3-Sum, fit weird. My big toe is at the center of the shoe squishing my little toes to the side. The other pair of Altras, my first minimal shoe, have too much arch padding, and they're REALLY ugly in my opinion. I want cute, but I can handle ugly if they're perfect. So, if the arch wasn't an issue, I'd just suck it up.

I thought we had something special.

Seriously. At this point, I feel like I should get paid for this, or at least get the shoes to try for free. Sure would cut down on the hassle of buying and returning. My feet must be the strangest shape on the planet.

My toenails growing back in. They're not shaped so weird, are they?

I have a friend who just bought the Altra One squared, and I was thinking about trying those. I've got to find some and settle before I start really pushing the mileage. I need the RIGHT shoes so I can conquer the world already, or at least that Boston qualifier next year.