And when my feet are happy, I’m happy.
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| happy feet in the Saucony Kinvara 3 |
I started running in my first pair, the Kinvara 2, a little over a year ago and pretty much fell HARD for every pair that I tried after that. When the Kinvara 3 came out, I was nervous because they made so many changes to that shoe (you can read my review here), but as it turns out those changes were improvements that made me love the shoe even more (thank goodness!).
I’ve found a Saucony shoe to meet the purpose of every kind of running that I do, and I even love the old school shoes for life when I’m not running (the Bullet and the Jazz are my favorites).
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| true shoe love |
I’m a neutral runner, so the ones that have typically worked best for me are the Kinvara (for track workouts, tempo runs, occasional long runs and all races from the 5k to the marathon), the Ride (a great trainer, this shoe is a neutral shoe with an 8mm drop and some cushioning) and the Triumph (another excellent trainer, also neutral with an 8mm drop, but with a little more cushioning than the Ride).
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| Saucony Ride – love. |
I tried the Cortana in the late summer and loved it – this shoe has a 4mm drop, an element of stability and LOTS of cushioning. I turn to it frequently for recovery runs, some long runs and days when my legs are just feeling a little more tired than usual.
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| hello Cortana, you have a place in my heart too |
Lately I have been exploring the trails and discovered the Kinvara TR and the Peregrine. I took the Kinvara TR out for 10 miles last weekend and guess what? I loved them. I’m going to write a more detailed post about them soon. They are amazing and make a huge difference when slogging through mud or traversing over rocks.
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| Kinvara TR. Maybe the happiest place for my feet is in the mud. |
And then there is the Mirage. This shoe is AWESOME. It’s got a 4mm drop like the Kinvara, but has more cushioning and is also a stability/motion control shoe. It feels great on my feet.
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| colorful and happy in the Mirage 2 |
You might be wondering why in the world a neutral runner would put herself in a stability shoe and call it love? I’ll tell you … the simple fact is that even the most neutral runners will get tired after running for a long time. And as we get tired, what changes? Our stride. It is inevitable. The element of motion control in the Mirage really makes a difference to me in the later miles of a long run and feels great on a recovery day. The shoe is lighter in weight than a trainer but has a 4mm drop like the Kinvara. It has a purpose in my training and I have really grown to love it.
Saucony is getting ready to introduce the Mirage 3 on February 1st. I’ve heard that they are making some major improvements to it just like they did with the Kinvara last year. This makes me excited because my experience with the 3rd generation of Kinvara was such a positive one. But, as we all know, any time a running shoe goes through major changes there is a *chance* we will be disappointed or it just won’t work for us any longer. I have been crossing my fingers (and shoe laces) in hopes that the Mirage 3 changes would make me happy.
As it turns out, last weekend when I met up with some good friends for a 16 mile long run – my friend Maddie and I were both INCREDIBLY LUCKY to be loaned a pair of the Mirage 3 to test out (thank you Jeff!!!).
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| Can you tell how happy our feet are! So excited. |
Before I even put the shoe on my foot, I knew I would love it. I could already tell it was lighter in weight and I loved the sleeker design elements. The shoe felt incredible from start to finish, and the miles just flew by. We ran an average pace of 7:34 with very even and consistent splits and my feet felt like wings.
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| Mirage 3: 16 miles of perfection |
My sneak peak of the Mirage 3 only made me more excited to get this shoe on my feet again. To say the least, it was not easy to hand them back to Jeff after the run! There is no question that the Mirage 3 will hold a special place in my heart as one of my favorite shoes of all time.
Once again, Saucony has me head over heels in love with a new shoe. If you are a fan of the Mirage 2 like I am, I am sure you will not be disappointed with the upgrades in the Mirage 3.
This shoe is AMAZING.
Do you have Saucony shoe love like I do? Which ones are your favorites? Are you excited about the Mirage 3? Are you a neutral runner who sometimes wears a stability shoe?
