From Air Force 1 to Rincon 3 and Beyond

I've been wearing Nike Air Force 1 shoes for almost 2 years. I love the choices in style and the overall vibe. Style and vibe don't always mean the right amount of support. Lately I've noticed that my left heel has been sore; especially while I'm wearing the Nike Air Force 1 shoes. This newly found pain has left me wondering if I need to...

1. Find a more comfortable pair of shoes and "give up" wearing the Nike Air Force 1 shoes or...

2. Stick with Nike and hope that the pain goes away.

Enduring the pain is not an option as I am on my feet for the majority of the day teaching. I have decided to test out several new pairs of shoes in the hopes that they would be more kind on my feet. I'm experimenting with 2 different "makes" of shoes; HOKA and Vionic. This blog post will focus on my experiences with both the HOKA Rincon 3's and the HOKA One One's.

HOKA Rincon 3's

I really like the style of these shoes. They feel really light on the feet and have a lot of overall support for the foot as well as plenty of cushion in the heel area. I wore these for 2 days this week at school. Standing in them all day felt good. While they are not making the pain in my left heel go away I must say that the pain is less than if I were still wearing the Air Force 1's. NOTE: I know that buying a pair of new shoes is not going to cure what might be an issue that I end up seeing a doctor for, I'm just trying to find a shoe that alleviates the pain enough until I seek medical options.

HOKA One One's

Going from the Air Force 1's to the Rincon 3's was an interesting experience in that I couldn't get over the support and cushioning I felt in the Rincon 3's. After wearing the Rincon 3's for a few days, I decided to try the One One's. Putting on the One One's immediately felt different than the Rincon 3's. I was impressed with the extra level of support and cushioning; more so than the Rincon 3's which didn't seem possible moving from the Air Force 1's. Like the Rincon 3's, the Onc One's are not magically making the pain in my left heel go away but they do seem to be alleviating that pain a little more than the Rincon 3's.

Now What?

Now that these shoes have found their way into my daily routines I need to assign them permanent roles. I need a pair shoes for work and a pair for when I'm working out on the treadmill. I have another pair of shoes that I bought; Vionic. Next week I will write about how I've been experimenting with them and where I think all 3 pairs might fit in my daily routines.