Who's the chick that's rockin' kicks?

I have new shoooooes!

Last Saturday I went to Foot Traffic, a running store here in Portland. We did a video analysis of my gait, which was pretty cool but not as high-tech as I was picturing. Basically, you run on a treadmill and they videotape you for about 30 seconds. That's about it. It's played back on a TV screen so everyone in the store can see your cankles stride.

I have a neutral stride, which means I don't need fancy shoes! It also doesn't explain anything about my arch or calf issues, which is a little bit disappointing. I was told that my old shoes were both too small and too wide for my feet.

There should be about a half inch space between your toe and the front of the shoe, which would explain why I was constantly chipping my pedicures in my other sneakers. I went up a size and a half!

These are my brand new Nike Air Pegasus+ shoes. They're magical. And I can't wait to wear them for my run today.

When I ran around the block it felt like I wasn't wearing shoes at all, they're so light. It does feel weird to have a shoe that's snug around my foot, but it's much less clunky than most of the other pairs I tried on (mainly Asics, my previous brand).

What brand of running shoes are you wearing right now? Do you have brand loyalty? What about buying shoes...do you go to a professional to get fitted, or do you just pick out the cutest ones in the store (like I used to!)?