My New Long-Term Love

In 2016, I went through a string of agonizing short term relationships. Each new relationship would spark joy, happiness and hope. Each break up became more painful and more difficult to accept than the last. I began to feel lost and utterly dejected. You see, I was coming out of 7 years of faithful companionship. Never questioning, never wavering. I always knew exactly where to turn. In the spring of 2016, everything all of a sudden changed. In the blink of an eye, we no longer worked, we no longer fit. In no way, shape or form was I ready for this. I found myself blistered, broken and in panic. So I did what any person on the rebound would do, I found myself jumping from relationship to relationship with the next always ending more disastrously than the last. By December 2016, I had all but given up. But on one cold faithful morning at brunch, I found myself face to face with the new love of my life.

Ok, so maybe it was foot to foot. Of course, the relationships I’m referring to – are with my running shoes. Any long distance runner will tell you, finding the shoe that works for you is paramount. I had worn the New Balance 1080’s for 7 long years. When the Version 6 Fresh Foam hit the market, I grabbed the new pair, excited to bang out my last few long runs in them before tackling the Big Sur International Marathon. In short, this new version was a disaster (even staff in the stores admitted to it!) and I found myself floundering for months trying to find a replacement shoe that worked for me. The bad news is, I didn't. As the year progressed I cycled through more shoes than I care to admit.

After the Tannenbaum 10K in December of 2016, I sat at brunch relaying my year of shoe woes to Michelle. That day I put my foot into her Mizuno Wave Rider 20 and thought: hmmm, these fit pretty good! It’s never been an easy feat for me to find shoes – running or otherwise. I have wide feet, and often find myself with my baby toe crushed or pushing itself out the side of a shoe. But right away, this shoe felt comfortable (Michelle's post race sweat may have been the selling point).

Fast forward to today. From the Wave Rider, and now the Wave Sky – I can pretty much say, I’m in love with Mizuno shoes.

The Shoe: Mizuno Wave Sky

The Wave Sky is Mizuno’s newest high cushion neutral shoe. It features its signature wave plate technology allowing for optimized heel to toe transition. The women’s shoe weighs 9.3oz and has a 10mm drop. It includes a mesh upper as well as double stitched midsole overlay. They retail on the Mizuno Canada website (www.mizunocda.com) for $180. They are also available at the Running Room (www.runningroom.com) and Running Free (www.runningfree.com).

Women's Wave Sky Men's Wave Sky

Look:

From the moment I pulled the Wave Sky out of the box, I was immediately enamored by them. They were beautiful and vibrant. To be honest, it’s been quite some time since I really cared what my shoe looked like as long as it worked! But not only was it was refreshing to pull out a women’s shoe that wasn’t pink, I was pleasantly surprised with how beautiful this shoe was. If I can get a shoe that works AND looks great … well, win-win.

Feel:

As someone who is just coming back from two stress fractures, I am constantly worried about impact and responsiveness. There is no wonder this shoe is called the Wave Sky, because it actually feels like you are walking on a cloud. The cushion in them was like nothing I have ever encountered before in a shoe. One of my first runs in this shoe was at the Toronto Waterfront 10K. In general, when I’m wearing a new shoe I am hyper aware of my feet. It wasn’t until several hours after the race walking to brunch that I realized I hadn’t noticed my feet at all. I was amazed. The longer I wear this shoe, it continues to mold nicely to my feet, and the responsiveness of the cushion has remained intact.

Fit:

One thing to note, if you are a Mizuno lover – for me I found these fit a bit snugger than the Wave Rider, so I might consider going up a half size (I wear a 9.5US). I have a wide foot, and while the Wave Rider toebox is perfect for me, I find this one slightly narrower. I definitely can’t wear thick socks in this size. In saying that, the mesh upper has allowed for some stretch, so I still get a comfortable ride while the overlays in the mid-section hold my foot securely in place. The shoe feels light on my foot, not at all clunky and have transported me on runs all around Toronto.

Between the Mizuno Wave Rider 20 and the new Wave Sky, I’m so pleased to now have 2 go-to pairs of shoes to grab anytime I head out the door. I would definitely recommend anyone who wants a good neutral cushioned shoe to give these a try.

As for me, once again I can now look out at my shoe future with happiness and hope - I've found my long term love with Mizuno.