My Running Shoes, if you can call them that!

Here are what I wear to run if for whatever reason I don't go barefoot.

In case you're curious, when I say I run barefoot, I really REALLY mean BAREfoot. As in, skin on pavement/dirt/gravel/whatever. However, sometimes, a situation comes up where I decide a little foot protection would be best.



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This summer, my preference was the red $8 Wal-Mart water shoe on the left. It did the trick, has little padding and was cheap. At the end of summer I bought another pair for backup. The new pair is black and silver.

A couple months ago, at Goodwill, I found the Isotoner slippers in the middle, which I can't find more of online. I'm going to be watching for them at Christmas though! They are by far my favorites. They are basically nothing, but add enough protection that I ran FAST on gravel one night and it didn't hurt. Why I ran fast is a whole different post!  What sets them apart from what I can currently see on the Isotoner website is the suede insole. Their current offerings are suede with grippy extra junk on the bottom and big fluffy padding on the insole. They describe it as "terry cloth...These Isotoner ballerina slippers cushion your feet with soft foam and specialized soles formed for you."
These that I have are more like gymnastics shoes or something. I can't figure them out. I will be sad when they wear out though!!  I wore them in a 5K for my fastest 5K time ever!

Right now, going into winter, I'm getting addicted to wearing the brown ones on the far right from Soft Star.  The only padding is some sheep skin, no molding or support of any kind. With a pair of SmartWool Socks, I've worn them with the temp in the 40's and have been happy. I'm kind of looking forward to worse weather for testing them! 

And in case you are just bored enough to keep reading, here's my total running collection. Well, I do still OWN but not run in my Mizuno Wave Alchemy shoes. Last time  I wore them it was to paint the house. 

The ones on the far left are Dr. Scholl's Fast Flats. They seem to be made of plastic? and I haven't worn them to run yet. They are supposed to be for taking with you when you go out on the town in high heels that you know will kill you, so when you kick off the heels, you still have something comfortable to protect you from the spilled beer, peanuts, and vomit on the night club floor. Um, why not just wear good flats to begin with??  I only own two pairs of heels that are cute enough to be worth the pain of wearing.  They don't get worn often, but they are there if I need them. 

Next in, with the long laces are Barefoot Ted's Luna Kit, a DIY project that I'm not in love with. My hubby runs in his happily though. I'll play with them more next spring.

Watershoe (see above)

Isotoners (see above)

Gist Five Toes (see 4 reviews)

Soft Stars (see above)

And there you have it. My shoe box.