36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fast, Light and Great Feel of the Road, April 19, 2010
This review is from: Mizuno Women's Wave Creation 11 Running Shoe (Apparel)
A fortyish female, 110 lbs, 5'2", run 25 miles a week currently. I have very high arches. My feet are narrow at the heel and arch but my toes fan out. Because of this, I need a generous tow box. I do not pronate at all and buy neutral+ shoes.
I had been running in Asics, they were great shoes but did not fit my feet properly. I purchased the Mizuno shoes in order to correct toe problems I was having.
I have put 150 miles on my Mizuno so I thought I had enough info to give a report. I bought these shoes along with a pair of Saucony ProGrid Triumph 7 which I alternate runs in. I also have a report on the Saucony which I have put 175 miles on.
I wear a size 6 in non running shoes. I bought a size 7. I wear very thin socks while running, if I wore thicker socks, I would probably want to try a 7 ½. My toe problem has healed and has not recurred. I no longer tape my toes as I had previously.
These shoes are very light weight. When I first put them on and ran a bit outside the store I felt like I did not have shoes on they were so light. (I had never worn Mizuno before) They offer adequate cushioning but not as much as I have felt in Nike Air I have run in or the Asics I was replacing. I could REALLY tell there was less cushioning, this concerned me a bit but the light weight was outstanding.
The shoes are snug and supportive on my arches which I desire with my very high arches. The area where my heel is has a snug fit and does not slip while running. It seems like they fit and support perfectly along the heel and mid foot and yet open up for a fairly roomy toe box. The toe box is not as roomy as my old Nike Airs, but is roomier than the Asics I had previously.
I have had no hot spots or blisters from these shoes. At one point I started having an issue with my pinky toe going numb a few miles into a run. I have found that I was lacing the shoes too tightly. I wanted to make sure I had the shoe nice and snug so it would not slip and was tying the laces WAY too tight. I now just tie them normally, like I was going out and not running and this has stopped this problem. I also noticed that I had pressure on the outside of my pinky toe, after making sure to not tie so tight, this also has stopped. I attribute these two issues to my fault and not the shoe, however, I do think that supports the fact that the toe box is smaller than Nike Airs; I had always tied those REALLY tight with no problem. Tying them looser has not affected how the shoe supports or given me any problems with rubbing.
I do wish these shoes came in a wide width, just to see if I could have the same size in a wide and tie them down tighter like I like. A wide width might make them perfect for me!
While running these shoes give me a very noticeable springy feel on my feet. Not like shocks on Nike but just a bit of a bounce when landing on my heel and rocking up to push off my toes. This really gives more power in my push off as the momentum powers me forward. I really like the feel of the road they provide too. I feel I get a good feel of the road, yet they power my push off, but with less cushioning, unfortunately. I also think the curve that the toe box makes upward helps with this springy feel. The Saucony shoes toe does not curve up near as much.
During my long runs (7.5 -8.5 miles) I enjoy the light weight of these shoes but do wish I had a bit more cushioning. It has not affected my performance, it is just a preference. When I am doing an easy long run and not worried about time as much I run in the Saucony as they have much more cushioning for these longer runs. If I am trying to run at 10K pace, I go with the Mizuno shoes, the light weight and better feel of the road is worth a little less TLC on my feet to me.
The tread on the shoe is aggressive. I have to stop at times to pop out a rock that is stuck and will not come out without me getting it with my finger. This is great on slick roads. I do not run on trails but I could see this may be a problem picking up stuff if you run a lot of trail runs rather than road running like I do.
I have run a 10K and a 5K in these shoes and have not thought about my shoes in these races. They were comfortable, light, supportive and felt fast. I think a shoe is doing its job when I do not think about it; it is just there, especially during a race.
All in all I like this shoe. I am planning on buying another pair soon when they are retiring it (lower price!!) If you are a runner who likes cushioning, you may want to have these for some runs and another pair to alternate with that offers more cushioning. That has worked well for me. The shoes were well worth the higher price. I prefer to run in these verses the Saucony. In my twenties, it would not have mattered, but with older knees, some more cushioned runs in the Saucony shoes are a must. These are my favorite shoes I have ever run in. An option of a wide width would be a big plus. If you have very wide feet, I recommend you try these on before buying them. They feel pretty wide for a regular width, but you would want to be sure.
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