The One and Only Shoe for My Distance Running

ASICS Kayano 25 

I am first and foremost, a runner. A good one, perhaps in the top 10% of the distance runners if I ever really trained hard for it. It was rather unfortunate that during my younger teenage days, my parents enroled me on a swimming program to keep my brother and I from expending our restless youthful days with the 'samseng' (gangster) boys of the neighbourhood.

When I gave up 10 years of struggling with golf - from 1991 to 2000 I went running ; Yeah I did and still do things in the reverse. I actually gave up an 'old man's game' to train for a young man's sport - the marathon - at the ripe young middle age of  38  people thought I was downright crazy. My wife for one was so afraid that I would be knocked down by a drunk driver as I ran countless kilometers on the roads at 5 am or 5.30 am.

I had to make a time management vs family decision. Golf is a social sport which requires up to 3 other flight mates (or acquaintences cum friends) so there is the social interaction and need to find people with the time, senority and similar level and interest in golf to join you in a game. As I am an 'Eagle' or person who is happy with himself and not requiring loads of friends to mingle and enjoy company I found this aspect of golfing a chore.

Secondly, the time management. For me to play 18 holes (bear in mind I was still in my mid 30s and my kids were 5 and 2 years old respectively) would take 4 hours to half a day on Saturday or Sunday which meant I would be away for half a day on the weekends. Then, I am a below average golfer, so my game was frustratingly inconsistent. Hence I found that the coordination aspect, finding right golfing partners or flight mates, the time aspect to leave the family away for half a day on weekends too much to sacrifice.

Hence, after much thought, I knew I needed to expend my stress in a meaningful and healthy way, hence I turned to my first sport which I loved and still do, long distance running. Out I went to buy the quick dry running vests or sweat shirts, the 'bun huggers', socks and the most important 'equipment' of all - the running shoe.

  

Running is the interplay between the entire body frame and the muscle system all working seamlessly in one machine - my body.

I persevered through all the naysayers and I can proudly say that I have completed a total of 10 full marathons, possibly 6 to 10 half marathons and several 10 km runs in these last 18 years. The time has flown by, but I was and I still am having tremendous fun doing my No. 1 favourite activity - long distance running.

Early on, I spent money subscribing to the Runner's World Magazine which is basically a Bible for the runner from then newbies like me (in 2001). I read it cover to cover and gained tremendous motivation to buy the right running shoe, eat the right foods and sleep well.

The shoes are the most important of all - so after ticking all the boxes I realised that I was a normal pronator meaning my footstrike was more or less centre onto the road. After checking the reviews for months and trying various shoe brands and model, I finally came to the shoe which firstly provided me with the best cushioning possible for my footstrike as well as gave my gait some form of stability ; 

Presenting the ASICS Kayano ; it is a shoe meant for moderate to heavy runners with maximum mid sole cushioning. I choose normally 2 sizes larger to my footsize because I wear thick socks for running (1 size) and my feet expand during the long runs of 10 km or more (1 more size). Hence my size is US Size 10 and I have been using this size ever since with practically zero blisters ; yessir - zero blisters. 

I am probably a very biomechanically efficient runner which means I have economy of stride or cadence and am able to maximise my distance per unit Joule expended. I have not done a Vo2 max test but I reackon the conversion of O2 inhaled through my lungs would be higher than most ordinary folks. The most elite athletes have a very high VO2 max score for distances of 5 km or longer. 

I have been using the Kayano models (I believe I have around 20 versions !) all these years and have never lost the love for the shoe. It does not look like much, their colours are normally quite dull, the version 23 was all Black and the legendary ASICs twin swoosh with a counter swoosh is actually based on stitching which would give the shoe the best flexibility according to their Japanese Designers.

"Anima Sana in Corpore Sano" which simply put means a Healthy Mind in a Healthy Body.

It is a dream shoe for all those slightly heavy guys like me who want a damn good stability shoe and your feet thank you for it after a long run !!! 

Carpe Diem !!!