Maven Says: Lovin' Ryka Kicks

The nice people over at Ryka, along with the lovely ladies at Parent Bloggers Network gave me a pair of MC2 Walking Shoes to take for a spin and let you know what I thought. I received my new shoes and was thrilled to give them a spin. Unfortunately they were too small. They run true to my running/exercise shoe size rather than my regular shoe size. They moved me up into the next size right away. Ahhhhhhh, room for my toes! Just like clothes, forget about what size they are and find the one that fits you!

I have been a reasonably regular walker for the last 6 years. After PDQ was born I lost nearly 100 pounds and most of my exercise was walking. We lived near a lake with a walking path and PDQ and I did it religiously. One of the only problems was my feet and ankles would get sore. Fast forward 6 years, I have maintained about a 30 pound loss after having another baby and I am still walking and fighting to find a shoe that is comfy for my foot. I generally hate the look of walking shoes and have worn every running shoe on the face of the earth (that I could find in a size 11!) including several pairs of Rykas. The result was generally sore shins.

So I went out to try my new walking specific shoes. After 2 miles, no sore shins, comfy feet and no pain in my knees or ankles. Oh, I like these shoes! For the next several weeks I put around 10 miles a week on the shoes and continued to be pretty comfortable walking--both on the walking paths and in the gym on the treadmill. My knees, ankles and feet all held up pretty well. With my wider forefoot and narrow heel it is sometimes hard to find shoes that fit well. These shoes, and the other Ryka shoes I've tried, fit the bill. I love the idea that Ryka only develops shoes for women. We deserve to have good exercise shoes that fit our feet and aren't just whittled down versions of men's shoes.

What I liked:

• Good support & cushioning
• Comfortable in the gym and on the street
• Good fit in the heel and forefoot
• Lacing options around the ankle for good adjustment

What I'd do different:

• Shoes are all leather and a bit hot when walking during hot weather
• I still can't quite get over the look of walking shoes, I prefer the sportier look of running shoes (but these are the sportiest of the walking shoes I've seen/had)

Just another personal plug for the folks at Ryka. A friend started training for a triathlon last year and it just happened to be the Ryka Irongirl Triathlon in Columbia, MD. I went to the event and it was seriously first class. The race was well run and the go grrrrrrrrrl feeling was electric in the air. In fact, I was so inspired by what I saw there that I am now training to do it as well. Soon I'll be trading in my walking shoes for running shoes so that I can swim, bike, run to the finish line next year. Registration starts next week and I'm signing up, then I'll be totally committed (some days I already feel like I should be)!

Free shoes? Yep, you can enter to win your own pair of free shoes over at the Ryka website and enter their Good for Your Sole promotion to win one of 50 pairs of shoes or performance tees EVERY DAY through October 25! I told you these people rock. So get thee on over there and sign thee self up!