Friday, March 22, 2013

One mile to my new solemate and a mystery man

So you may or may not remember when I posted about going to the local running store and coming home with the Pure Flow 2s.  I figured since me and the Pure Flow 1s were like solemates and besties from the first second I wore them that it would be the same with the 2s.

Not so much. 

I ran in them and ran in them all last week.  I even wore them to work a couple of times hoping it would help break them in.

No bueno. I was so sad.  I felt so let down.

They rubbed on my achilles.  The left foot rubbed on the base of my big toe and the ball of my right foot hurt under my big toe.  They felt loose in the heels. I tried lacing them different ways to no avail.

So I took them back.  They looked at them with me and yes they were the correct size for my feet.  The store took them back and we started on a mission to find me some shoes!

First I tried the Saucony Virattas. They are beautiful.  I wanted to love them. I really wanted to love them, but they rubbed funny on my arches.  I ran a quarter of a mile in them and it just didn't feel right. My feet were not in love.

Next up I tried the Brook Pure Cadence, these felt better, but still seemed a bit more in the arches than I wanted after another quarter of a mile.  I was leaning towards getting these ones at this point.

I tried something from Asics Gel-Lyte line and those were okay but I just didn't love. I went out and ran another quarter of a mile just to see how they felt.  There was no instant connection. I love my Pure Flow 1s and I want to love my next shoe too.  Of course they were all out of 1s.

Then they remembered the new shoe they had just got in last week.  So I tried it on and even before I ran a quarter of a mile in them I was in love with how they felt on my feet. It was like love at first step. My feet seemed to be saying "this is the one I want to be with".

So what were they?

Altra Torins!  I loved them so much I got them in the black and blue and the pink. 




I even ran my half marathon last Saturday in them after only running two miles in them on Friday. 

I was a little worried about doing it, but decided hey you only live once! They felt good.  I hope the love continues.  They are a zero drop, the first ones I have ever had, but I have ran two more times in them and still love them. 

I had actually really wanted the Intuitions after doing online research on them, but since my favorite local running store didn't have them I went with the Torins.  Not sad I did.
Intuitions (aren't they pretty!)

They just came out with these shoes called the One.  They are designed for speed work and racing.  I think I need them!
I hope no one really tried to roll over the pictures to zoom, because you can't.  Images were from altrazerodrop.com

Seriously was not paid or bribed to do this post.  This is my new shoe love.

As a total Altra type side note, earlier in January I was contacted by someone claiming to be a representative of Altra and he wanted to do a guest post on my blog.  He offered to send me a pair of Altras even.  I never heard from him again despite attempting to contact him several times. So sad, I had really wanted to try the Altras.

I finally contacted the company who claimed to not have anyone by that name working for them.  I sent them my email chains.  I also contacted another blogger who had much the same experience with the "representative" I did.  I googled the guys name Mathew Kyle, and found he had done quite a few guest posts on blogs.

I haven't heard from Altra again either.

Just curious who else was contacted by him and what their experience was with the mysterious guest blogger who claimed to be from Altra that they denied knowing. 

22 comments:

  1. Those are so pretty! Love the colors & so happy that you found a pair you LOVE! And already a half in them!? It's meant to be :-)

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  2. OOH I really like those yellow ones!

    Wow that is VERY strange about that Mathew Kyle person, I wonder what on earth his affiliation was with the Altra company!

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  3. There's a lady in my running team who wears Altras... She loves them. I may have to give them a try when I go in to get new shoes... but I don't think that I can ever part with my Brooks.

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  4. I got an email from him too, back in December. I never responded though. Sometimes I'm just not sure about those guest posts. I guess it wasn't a miss since he didn't even get back to you.

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  5. Talk about shoe envy!! I want a pair of Altra's. It's just no shoe stores around here carry them. I just bought my first pair of Brooks Pure Cadence. Actually my first pair of Brooks ever and I love them. They're a little more shoe than I would like which I think is why Altra might be suited better for me.

    I actually contacted Altra do see if I could do a shoe review but haven't heard back.

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  6. I am really, really, REALLY sad to hear that the flow 2's didn't work out for you. I'm on my last surviving pair of 1's, and I'm terrified to start over with a new shoe :( :( :(.

    I was contacted by that guy, too, but never responded. Weird.

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  7. First off, congrats on your new shoes.....I rock the intuitions and I CAN'T WAIT to get my foot in their extra cushioning cousins, the torins :) So glad you like them :) As for weirdo fake altra guy - never heard of him. I do a lot of work with Altra, though since I'm Canadian I know deal with Entrix Sports, the canadian distributor. However, let me just say that Jeremy, the american marketing guy for Altra is amazing.....but he takes a long time to get back to you. I'd follow up :) I actually thought he got sick of me and then MONTHS later he contacted me for a review, so I think Altra people are just extremely busy :)

    Glad you like them!!!! PS: my virtual race is giving away 2 pairs of Altras ;) GET EXCITED!!!

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  8. I remember when this happened to me with the Brooks Adrenaline 12s! I ended up trying a million shoes and totally screwing up my achilles. Turns out I just need to go another half size up (so a full shoe size) for the 12s and now they are perfect. Go figure. I'm glad you found some shoes you love!

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  9. haha Matthew contacted me too- wrote an article, and it was so bizarre and had no content that I told him I couldn't use it- haven't heard from him since

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  10. Same here with that Altra guy. I have the pure flow 2's and they are ok. No rubbing...but you are right, the heel slips. Maybe I should give the Altra a whirl? Hmmmmm...

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  11. I got the Provisioness and I love them, did a few races in them last year, and the Torris would be the next Altra shoes I would try. In the pink for sure!

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  12. Ahhhh! No. Must. resist.

    So tempting because I just bought 2 pairs of PureFlow 1's because I love them so much and I know that once they are worn out I will have to find something to replace them. You are not the first I have seen that says the PF2s just aren't the same. These look tempting, but I will resist because I'm still adjusting to the lower drop, and kicking it to zero might just completely break my calves at this point! I'm mentally taking note though! They are cute!

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  13. Love those shoes! Congrats on finding "the one"!!

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  14. Yay - glad you found a new shoe love. It stinks to love a shoe and then find the next version of it has changed so much.

    How bizarre about the Altra guy!?!

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  15. This is such funny timing! Those are the exact shoes I plan to try next (still on my last two pairs of the original Pure Flows). I'm so glad you like them--makes me feel good about spending the money.

    That guy Matthew Kyle contacted me, too, and I told him my blog was going away--didn't hear from him again. He never offered me a pair of shoes, though.

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  16. Thanks Christy, I have a pair of the Brooks Pureflow 1 and love them. I've tried to find another on in my size but havent been able to find one. I tried the Pureflow 2 and they seem to fit different alot of room in the toe box. I am going to check out thise Altras. Thanks girl.

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  17. I totally forgot about this but he totally emailed me too! He asked if he could write a post on preventing running and hiking injuries, which struck me as bizarre to begin with because they're two different things! He kepts referring to himself as "expert" too which was unusual. I responded, asking him a few details, and he never came back either. Let me know if you hear anything because that's BIZARRE!

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  18. I got an email from that guy too! I asked him a question and he said he'd get back to me and then nothing haha

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  19. Wow I have never heard of these shoes but so glad you found a pair you liked! I love my PureFlows, and I agree, the 2s are ok, but not quite as wonderful.

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  20. That guy emailed me too!! And his picture showed up on the email since it was gmail, but I never responded.

    Yay for a new solemate! They look comfy, and love the colors!

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  21. Those are really pretty! And if your feet love them that much, perfect combination of style and comfort. I've heard a couple of other people mention them before, but have never seen them in person.

    Personally - the PureFlow line never worked for me - I have narrow ankles or something. Still love my Launch though. :)

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  22. I got an e-mail from the same guy but it seemed like spam so I never replied.

    I have the Altra Intuitions and I really like them. Their new styles have caught my eye too. Glad you are in love with yours!

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