LUV Footwear review and giveaway!

Back in the day, I used to wear some killer heels. I mean killer. I was single, living in New York City, and in love with sassy shoes. So I wore them. High heels -- the higher the better -- all the time.

And that was all fine because I was in my 20s and I ran only sporadically so painful feet weren't really that much of a problem.

Now, though? I'm all about the comfort. I need to save my feet for long runs and speed work, so heels really don't fit in my life. Neither do pinchy, narrow shoes. My poor toe joints simply can't handle being stuffed into too tight shoes.

My toe joints don't feel so sore in my new LUV Footwear funky flats.

Check these cute shoes out:

Totally cute, right? I know.

And, yes, I also know that I have a horrible bunion on my right big toe. You can see it so clearly in the picture. Yikes. Yet another reason I go for comfort these days!

So, the shoes.

LUV Footwear sent me the shoes to review and I give them two thumbs-up. They are cute, as you can see. They are also comfortable, thanks to the wide-enough toe box and stretchy Lycra upper (the bottom is EVA). 

The only slight downside for me is that there isn't much arch support in these shoes. That's pretty common with flats, especially this style (somewhat ballet-flat-ish). So, it isn't a huge complaint. But, I do typically like more arch support than less.

The shoes come in several fun colors and patterns that you can check out on the LUV Footwear web site. If you're wondering, I chose metallic pink -- and I'm happy I did! One note: The shoes do run small, so the advice on the web site to size up if you're between sizes is sound. Take that advice!

They retail for $40.00.

Interested? Well, I have two ways that you can slip your feet into some comfortable LUV shoes!

The discount:

LUV Footwear is generously offering all blog readers 20% off through August 16th. Lucky, lucky! To order your shoes at the discounted price, visit their web site (LUVfootwear.com), choose your shoes and use this code when ordering: HappyRunner


Easy peasy!


The giveaway:

One lucky reader will win a pair of LUV Footwear shoes of their choice.

To enter, pop over to the LUV Footwear Facebook page and sign up for their newsletter. Then come on back and leave me a comment letting me know that you did.

Additional entries:

As always, you can gain extra entries. Remember, though, you must complete the required entry first! And, yes, I'll check. (Leave one comment per entry for the additional ones to count.) So, here's what to do:

• Follow me on Pinterest, or let me know that you already do (leave a comment)
• Pin the image from this post to share the giveaway on Pinterest (leave a comment)
• Follow me on Twitter, or let me know that you already do (leave a comment)

• Follow me on Instagram, or let me know that you already do (leave a comment)

• Link to this giveaway from your blog (leave a comment)

This giveaway will run through Monday, August 5th at 11:59pm EST and the winner -- chosen at random from all eligible entries -- will be announced on Tuesday. The winner will have 48 hours to contact me or I'll choose another winner.

Good luck!

Review disclaimer: I was sent product for review from LUV Footwear. I was not otherwise compensated and the opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Shoes and sleep.

File this under: Fortuitous.

So the baby was sick yesterday and I couldn't go running shoe shopping. Wah. But! Good thing because yesterday evening I learned that Somnio FINALLY has my shoes in stock! Yes, after 5 months of waiting and waiting for that little "out of stock" label to disappear from the Self Control product page, it finally has. I can now order away.

My feet can hardly wait to wear these bad boys!

Good thing, too. For last night's run I wore my old, worn out Somnios and while they felt better than the newer Mizunos and Brooks I've been relying on lately, they are in rough shape. Just about 500 miles will do that to a shoe.

Now, I never want my baby to be sick but, you know, had he not been ill I would have gone to Fleet Feet with friends yesterday and bought a different pair. And then kicked myself.

However, unrelated to the shoes, my poor little guy was up all night. All. Night.

OK, I exaggerate. There was an hour-long stretch in there when we both slept. It was a wonderful little hour. And there were some 20 and 30 minute stretches of fitful sleep that I shouldn't even really count as sleep but I guess when you're desperate you'll count anything.

So, yeah, coffee and I are good friends today. Running? Hmm, not sure. We'll see how my body holds up as the day goes on.

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Hey -- have any of you run the Philadelphia Half Marathon or the Adirondack Half Marathon (in Schroon Lake)? I'm looking for feedback on those two races. I've heard great things about the Adk, Philly looks fun, too.

Let me know what you think of those races, if you've run them. Thanks!

Have a good day, everyone --

~ Felice

Tuesday, not shoe day.

My plans to go to Fleet Feet to buy new shoes today fell through. My little guy is sick (boo! hiss!) so dragging him out to the store didn't seem to be such a good idea. Running shoes . . . baby's health . . . running shoes . . . baby's health . . . Yeah, baby's health won out. He napped, I stayed ever vigilant to wiping his (constantly) runny nose.

I'll get those new shoes someday. Really. I will.

In the meantime, I've been getting ready for my first post-half marathon race on Sunday, writing articles (about Mother's Day gifts, the upcoming Freihofer's Run for Women, and this cool race in Williamsburg, VA), and trying to ignore the body aches and pains that may or may not be flu-like symptoms that I may or may not be able to rid myself of through my tried-and-true cocktail of vitamins c and d. And, perhaps, a night with more than just a few hours of (very interrupted) sleep.

Man, sleep would be nice.

You can't always get what you want, though, right? Right. So, instead I'll hope to get out for an easy run this evening and maybe that will give me some energy and shake out the achy-ness. Fingers crossed!

Now, back to taking care of the babe. I'll cuddle the crankiness away!

Thanks for stopping by --

~ Felice

Shoeless Joe.

The time has come for new shoes. My super awesome, favorite Somnios have over 450 miles on them and I just can't keep piling on. I've been holding out on getting new shoes because Somnio is having some sort of manufacturing problem and the shoes that I use -- and love -- are completely, totally out of stock. Almost like they don't exist.

I have been waiting for them to come in since early this year. Waiting and waiting. Now, I can wait no longer.

And so, the hunt is on for new shoes. Yuck.

For years (about 7), I wore Brooks Addictions and loved them. Sure, I tried others along the way: A pair of New Balance that seemed good and then not. A pair of Mizunos that are ok but only so. A pair of Sauconys that just, well, were just a huge N-O. So I stuck with Brooks. They did me well. I was loyal.

And then I tried Somnio. Oh, how I fell in love.

Semi-custom Somnios. They were perfect. And now they are worn out.

Fleet Feet, here I come!

Has anyone else run into the out-of-stock Somnio issue? I wear the Self Controls. Would like something similar.

*     *     *

In other news, I've had some super-great runs over the past fews days and feel like my 5K training is coming together. My first speed session was weak as can be, but I blame that on not having run very fast in a while.

I'm looking forward to this week's intervals!

Have a great week, everyone!

~ Felice 

(Not quite) wordless Wednesday.

My little guy is one month old. A whole month! Can you believe it? No, neither can I.

He's getting B-I-G:

And his big brother loves him:

Aww . . .

Meanwhile, I really need to do something about the front closet:

 

Yup, home of a runner.

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

~ Felice

Relay?

I think I may have gone nuts.

Amanda from Manderz Road to a New Life asked me if I wanted to run a race with her. She lives near me and although we haven't had a chance to meet up yet, I know she's cool from reading her blog and from our email "conversations." So, I agreed to the race. Only, it isn't just a race. It's a marathon relay. In February. Have I mentioned that we live in upstate New York where the winters are cold and the average temps in February range from 16 to 34 degrees?

Sign me up!

It's a three-person relay and Amanda has asked another blogger as well, but she might have a conflict that weekend so she's not sure if she can do it. I think it would be awesome to run the marathon relay with these two other bloggers. I mean, what fun! But, the weather . . . it could be tough. We'll see what happens!

In the meantime, I'm returning my running shoes. I contacted the store and they said they'd take them back so as soon as I can get on that, I'll get on that. I've been running in an older pair of shoes -- same Brooks Addictions -- and I've had no problems at all. I'll stick with those until I get a replacement pair. So, yay for that.

And with that, I'm off. Have a great day!

~ Felice

PS: TODAY is the last day to enter my Winter Motivation Booster giveaway!

The tongue bruise.

Sounds weirder than it is. The bruise is actually on my ankle, but caused by the tongue of my beloved running shoes. My trusty Brooks Addictions, the shoes I adore and have worn for years and years and years with great success, are causing me pain.

Sad day. Sad few weeks, really, because these shoes have well over 100 miles on them. I guess what is happening is that the tongue of my right shoe is digging into my ankle. I've never had this happen before! Like I said, I've been wearing Brooks Addictions for years and have never had a problem with them at all. I love 'em!

But, this new pair has been different. The tongue bothered me on my first run and I chalked it up to the shoes being new and needing to be broken in a bit. Then I felt it on the second run. And the third, fourth, and so on. I've tried moving the tongue to the side and that doesn't help. I've also tried lacing my shoes differently and that doesn't help either.

Now, I'm bruised:

The photo doesn't do my bruise justice (but it sure does show how veiny my feet are!). Imagine the bruise a little worse than shown and you'll be right on.

So, here's what I'm wondering: Has the tongue of your running shoe ever bothered you? What have you done? Should I send the shoes back? Should I try cutting the offending edge off of the tongue?

It's such a bummer. Black toenails I can handle but bruised ankles? Not caused by clumsy tripping (who, me?)? No thanks. My shoes are otherwise fine and exactly as expected. It's just this slight pain and the bruising that I don't go for.

Anyway, that's that. Have a great Tuesday, everyone!

~ Felice

Don't forget to enter my Winter Motivation Booster giveaway here!

Tempted by the fruit of another.

I'm going to come right out and say it: I cheated. But when I tell you the story, you'll understand. At least I hope so!

I hadn't meant to cheat. I've long been a Brooks Addiction girl. They've served me well for years and years. They cradle my gimpy toe and keep my wackadoodle pronation in line. They are solid. Solid, supportive, clunky. And always there for me.

So I hadn't even been looking, as satisfied as I was with my Brooks. I hadn't gone to any running stores, hadn't slipped on any Nikes or Mizunos just for fun, hadn't even gone to the running shoe section in the online stores.

They found me, people. I swear it.

A nice lady emailed me and asked if I would be interested in trying a pair of New Balance running shoes. Yes! I practically shouted. I would! I love running gear! Love it all! (Was I too excited? A little over-eager? Perhaps . . . ) She gave me a code and sent me to the web site to select my shoes. I found a sharp looking stability shoe (the 768), ordered it and awaited its arrival.

And then the package arrived (very quickly, I might add) to even more excitement than the original offer of free shoes. I opened the box and stared in awe of the 768's sleek running superness. Owen warned me not to get caught up in their looks. "You love your Brooks for a reason," he said. Um, yeah. He was right but, dang, these new shoes were hot!

I tried them on. Cushy. Cushy and sleek. And fast-looking. Oh, I was going to love them.

My nerves got the better of me, though, and I didn't try them out for a week. I guess I didn't want to be disappointed. And I wasn't. I took my new kicks for a run on the treadmill one afternoon and they were a soft ride. They felt great -- very different from the ultra-control of my Brooks. So I took them out again, this time for speedwork. Yes, they felt terrific.

Then came the true test: A run over my regular, hilly route.

It was the end.

They just couldn't cut it. My feet felt too . . . too . . . free? I don't know. They felt like they were all over the place when I was running downhill and they were too bendy on the uphills. I don't know how else to describe it. They just didn't work. I went back to my trusty Brooks for my next hilly run and it felt right.

Tempted, yes. I was tempted by the New Balance and I will fully admit that I plan to wear them for treadmill runs and keep my Brooks for all outdoor runs. Luckily for my Brooks, this means they'll get the bulk of my runs. But, once a week or so, when I hit the 'mill, the New Balance will be on.

Do I feel guilty? Nah . . . I now know that, truly, my Brooks Addictions are for me. We're a perfect match.

If you are wondering (and you probably aren't), tomorrow I will wear my trusty Brooks for the big race. No cheating there! I'm seriously nervous, by the way. This afternoon I'll head to the expo and then tonight I'll tell myself -- repeatedly -- that I can run fast enough to finish under 23 minutes.

And I will write more about the tennis ball. I haven't forgotten the requests for more info!

OK, happy Friday. I hope all the racers have a great time this weekend!

~ Felice

Running with Brooks.

(This week's TiaRT theme at Runners' Lounge is an ode to running shoes, written "in the same number of words as the dollars* it took to buy them." OK . . . I'll give it a go!)

I'm addicted to the Addiction, Brooks' appropriately named motion control shoes. Yes, they’re heavy. Yes, they’re clunky and big. But they contain my feet, forcing my body into a less injury-prone gait.

I used to wear whatever was on sale: Nike, Saucony, Adidas. Then the injuries started. I had my gait analyzed at a running specialty store (something I recommend to every runner) and “the guy” suggested the Brooks Addiction. Six years later, I’m still a fan.

My front hall closet.

Have a great Thursday, everyone!

~ Felice

PS: Barney Butter is giving away free samples! Check it out here. Yum!
PPS: Amanda at Run to Finish is having a goodie bag giveaway here. Double yum!

* My last pair cost me a grand total of $77.50.