My New Adizero - Here is how I selected my shoe..

I've dated injuries related to running for over three months now. Recently when I consulted Dr.Rajat, he diagnosed the problem to be due to ITB (Iliotibial band) in my left knee. Having said that, he had suggested me to buy a shoe that had a good support for over-pronation. He also suggested me the Adidas Nova Control ones or the Nike Bowerman series ones.

I visited the Adidas running website and went to their shoe section. I was surprised to see such a good website that was made available for customers in India (its clear that Adidas has understood the growing number of runners in the country!). The slider panel on the left hand side had three selections that would essentially take inputs from the buyer. These inputs included "Why I run?", "Where do I run?" and "What are my motion mechanics? (related to pronation)". Once I made my selections (as you see on the left), it presented me with a set of shoes that was filtered out from the entire basket.

I was presented with four different models of shoes

1. adiSTAR Control 5
2. Supernova Sequence
3. Response Control 7
4. adiZero Tempo

With this list in my mind, I decided to visit the Adidas store in my city (Chennai, India) to spend some time and buy the right shoe.

On Saturday (8th Nov), I visited the Adidas store in Chennai. Apparently, its Asia's second largest Adidas store (with the first one in Bangalore). There, I got my feet scanned with Adidas' very own Footscan™. The adidas footscan™ process is simple and it was a 5minute process. The footscan™ pad records the pressures created through your foot strike, and the software interprets this data to provide an accurate, graphic representation of your footstrike. My foot scan looked like the one on your right.

I finally tried out different models of shoes in the store, and decided to buy the adiZero Tempo. The damage to my pocket was INR 7500 (USD 158)!! I know that this is a steep price.....but I had a reason to spend. My existing shoe is worn out (I've done more than 400 kilometers in it) and I'm just 26 days away from my first full-marathon in Singapore. To top it all, I'm 'still' recovering from my ITB problem. With all of this, I cannot dare to run the Singapore marathon with the worn out shoe. I'm also a believer that when you want to achieve the best result, equip yourself with the best support system.

Well, if you are wondering about what really is there in this shoe to pay such a hefty price, here is a snapshot of the technologies it uses -

Midsole Material: Torsion® System
The Torsion® System creates stability and control and provides midfoot support.

Cushioning Technology: adiPRENE®+
Cushioning material that retains natural propulsive forces for greater forefoot efficiency.

Heel Technology: adiPRENE®
Maximizes heel protection and stability; is located under the heel to provide extra protection from harmful impact forces.

Outsole: adiWEAR®
A non-marking rubber outsole compound offering abrasion-resistance and durability.

Lacing System: Ghillie Lacing
Ghillie lacing system provides a secure and custom fit.

Some of its Unique Features are -

1. ForMotion® adjusts to the ground to bring your foot in for a smoother, more natural touchdown at high speeds
2. Flex grooves provide optimum forefoot flexibility

That's not all about it! I did something really daring yesterday with my new pair of adiZero. To know more, Stay Tuned!!