Finding A Good Athletic Shoe

Does anyone else have problems finding a good, comfortable shoe besides me? Over the last 3 months I have been through 3 different pairs of athletic shoes. The most important thing I have learned is to purchase the shoes from a store that has a good return policy. You will not know if they fit properly until you have worn them a few times. A good store will allow you to return the shoe within a period of time if they are uncomfortable for any reason.

The first shoe I bought from JC Penneys and was one of those toning shoes. These shoes do feel great but after wearing for about a 2 weeks I started having problems with my hamstrings. I couldn't figure out what I did, until a physical therapist told me it could possibly be my shoes. So back to the store I went with them, and had no problem returning them. Hamstring problem went away as soon as I quit wearing them.

The next shoe I purchased was on-line with Zappos. The have a great return policy and even pay for the shipping to send them back. I bought some Puma's from them and thought they where so cute. I learned real quick that cute is not usually comfortable. So back in the box they went and shipped them out of here.

So here I am still looking for  a good shoe. Found these adidas shoes at Dick's Sporting Goods Store.

Again I thought they were cute, they are advertised as a lite running shoe. Brought these shoes home and had them for about a month. They hurt my feet and I thought I just needed to get used to them.

I finally realized there is going to be no breaking these things in so I returned them with no problem.

I tell you at this point I am ready to go barefoot. Then I decided to look at the style of shoe I already have and love, and those are Asics. After trying on a few of these I finally found a pair that felt good. Now they are not as cute as these other ones I purchased but I have decided that the comfortable shoe out weighs the benefits of a cute shoe.

The moral of the story...forget about price or looks. This is going to be hard to do, but remember that these shoes are to help you perform better and reduce your chance of injury. They are not a fashion statement and looking for a thrifty deal amy cost you more when you end up visiting the doctor more frequently due to injury.