New Running Shoes - I'm cheating on Brooks with Asics

In March, just before Brew to Brew, I bought a new pair of shoes and I've been enjoying myself testing them out. I've taken them on treadmills, track and the road and I'm finally ready to talk about the Asics Gel Lyte 33.  (Asics isn't paying me; I bought these suckers myself.)

A quick review of my running shoes will tell you that I pretty much always buy Brooks Running Shoes because brand loyalty or whatever.  They work for me.  Why did I step out on my usual brand? I'm kind off teed off at Brooks right now. Brooks minimalist shoes are projected to last 250-300 miles, tops. No way am I paying $100 for a shoe that only lasts half as long as it should. As in the past, whenever I step out on Brooks, it's always with Asics.  (It's funny that my two favorite races are sponsored by these brands. Brooks does Twin Cities and Asics does Flying Pig.)

The original Asics - Gel Speedstars.  How I miss you.

In my hour of need, I started poking around for other shoes.  Rules are it has to be a minimalist or transition shoe, made for women, and durable enough to last the 500 miles running shoes should last.  I found a wicked sale on Amazon for the Asics Gel Lyte 33 which met all of my criteria. I read the reviews on the website, and reviews from a couple bloggers. I found this review particularly helpful, even though he's reviewing the men's model.  The shoes on Amazon were wicked on sale, about 50% off (because it's the ugliest color possible), so I decided it was worth a try.  And since I've had Asics before, I knew my size.

First impression: Something is very wrong.  (There is going to lead to a separate post about runners tying their shoes correctly.)  Ultimately the review on the Asics website that said these things bunch where the tongue meets the upper was correct and it was freaking me out.  I was thrilled my toenails weren't black when I got done running.  After re-lacing and re-tying the damn shoes correctly, I took them out for several more runs and things went much better.

Shoe construction: I love in the review I linked above, the guy mentions there's no heel counter.  That means there's nothing in the back of the shoe holding the heel structure up, so you can do what's pictured below.  Whatever, it seems to work for me.  I agree with the reviewer that shoes and super light, and comfortable, once I resolved the bunching up issues.  It also just feels like an Asics shoe.  Much like the pink shoes, I'm not afraid to beat the crap out of it.  Which is what I've been doing the past few days.  I've already got about 45 miles on these guys.

Ride:  It's not the Speedstar (which I still lament almost every day) but it's a close second.  The toe box is much more closed in than I'm used to with Brooks, but it works for these shoes, much like it worked for the Speedstar.  The shoe just doesn't get in the way of the run.

Fit: As mentioned above, if they don't feel right re-lace before complaining.  The other thing I noticed, even compared to other Asics I've worn is the narrow fit.  It's mostly impacting my sock choice, going for the thinnest socks I have.  Once I got that sorted out, they fit fine.  Yes, I do have thin wool socks.

New version: Other than the color, I think my shoes were so cheap because a new version (Gel Lyte 33 2.0) was just around the corner.  I've read some reviews that indicate that whole "shoe bunching at the tongue/upper junction" issue has been resolved for the new model.  And they will have prettier colors than black and white.

The old and the new together.