Okay, Okay and yes, I know that I said Nike Lunar Glide 5, not 7 in the title. That is because this is a 50 mile review of the LG5’s.

 So this is a 50 mile review of yet another pair of running shoes that is already on close-out and has been for a while.

The Nike Lunar Glide 5.

A little background

I don’t spontaneously go out and buy a pair of running shoes anymore, unless it is a deal I can’t refuse or I am completely frustrated with what I am currently running.

It wasn’t that great of a deal to buy these shoes, I don’t consider $84 a big discount from their original price for a pair of shoes that is two generations ago.

So it was the frustration factor.

Last week I was feeling pretty damn frustrated with my daily trainer rotation (too firm, too narrow, too zero drop, too many overlays, etc.) and on a whim I went to Olympia Sporting Goods, over in Waterville.

I went in without any plan or clue what I was really looking for and tried on 4-5 pair of running shoes (all no ways), had all but given up and was getting ready to leave. When I found the Lunar Glide 5’s in a 9.5 on close-out.

The funny thing is that they are a style of running shoes, I would not have even looked at or bothered to research online, since the Lunar Glides are outside of my preferred style of running shoes. They are a more traditional daily trainer, that have a higher drop (10mm or so), are for the runner with mild pronation control needs and styled to look a little too pointy in the toe box.

Yep, the Lunar Glide 5’s were definitely outside of the niche that I have preferred to run in for a while.

Go figure.

Not a Nike Hater

Unlike some runners/bloggers, I am not a Nike hater and I probably have run more miles in Nike shoes than any other brand. When I find Nike running shoes that fit me the way I like, their shoes work quite well for me. It is just finding them and for me getting by the “stats” that are usually different from what I “thought” I run better in.

With Nike running shoes it is all about the fit and sizing (they seem to run small and too narrow in the toe box). I measure between a 7.5 and 8.0 on the Brannock device and typically wear 8.5 for most running shoes. The kicker and biggest fit issue, is that my right foot Tailor’s Bunionette really screws up the fit on most running shoes that I try on.

So fitting into the 9.5 LG5’s wasn’t that outlandish as it sounds at first and while they are a touch too long, the fit for my hard to figure out right foot, felt amazing from the first time I tried them on.

They didn’t have that over-snug “performance fit” that so many brands are or at least seem to be pushing on/into their lighter-weight trainers, well most of their lines. Personally, I like a forefoot that has a lot more room for the toes to do their thing and that is often called a sloppy fit by the run bloggers or wear-testers out there – then that is what I want in my running shoes – a sloppy fitting toe box.

That is the story about how they came home with me and why I was willing to risk the wrath of the wife for another pair of budget busting running shoes – yet again.

Enough about the why’s

The initial run in the Lunar Glide 5’s was the first time that I felt completely comfortable running in a pair of daily trainers in a long time – I forgot about them except to think, boy these feel really good.

Over the course of the past year, I think I had gotten used to my right foot always being a bit scrunched and didn’t realize how narrow the other trainersI had been wearing actually were – because so many of them felt so great otherwise, but looking back it seems that I was always complaining at least a little about how my right foot was bothering me. That 20/20 hindsight thing and why my blog is important to me.

That first run really set the tone for how all the subsequent runs have been: put the LG5’s on, lace ’em up and just run. Over the past week I have not whined about my how my feet/legs are feeling during or after a run.

They feel very well-cushioned, which is something that I do love and as much as I hate to admit it, I still heel-strike and probably always will – such a rebel. The LG5’s are made for heel-strikers and probably that mild motion-control is helping out a little as well to smooth out the awkwardness of my gait.

I simply put on the Lunar Glide 5’s and go run.

What kind of runs

I have run on dirt roads, tar, tarred rail trail and groomed gravel trails in them LG5’s, with distances up to 8.0 miles. During which they have handled without any issues. On the dirt roads/trails I have to be a little more aware of what I am stepping on for rocks and stuff, along with some smaller pebbles getting caught in the groove on the forefoot which don’t bother, but need to be removed after I am done.

Even though I don’t think of them as a “fast” shoe, I have set a mile course record, with some very short sections under a 6:00 minute pace. Which means that I can run faster in them, if I really want or have to, but that is not what I wanted or got them for.

These are the running shoes that I will be using to primarily soak up higher mileage. Those days when you want to run and just keep putting miles on your legs.

A good example was today’s run, I had planned on doing 4.0 and ended up doing 8.0 miles. I would not have done that in any of the other trainers I have worn lately, because I would have been afraid of how my feet would be feeling after 4-5 miles. I had confidence that the Lunar Glide 5’s were going to let me run comfortably, without any discomfort or pain and that is what happened.

What don’t I like

The colorway is blah and not my first choice by a long shot, bordering on looking like “grampy” shoes (hey wait I am a grampy – but I hate blah running shoes).

Changing out the laces did help brighten them up a lot, but I still would have preferred a more neon color – after all the brighter the color the faster you run – right.

Beggars can’t be too choosy and honestly, at the point I was at when I got the LG5’s, I didn’t really care what the colorway was, I was looking for function over appearance.

The reality is that 

I have confidence in the Nike Lunar Glide 5’s and know that I can run any distance that I want to run and not suffer or have to pay for running in them.

Over the past couple of years, I had gotten myself locked into a particular niche of running shoes that I thought worked the best for me and the performance of the Nike Lunar Glide 5’s are making me stop and look a lot closer at what actually works for me versus I “think or believe” works for me.

All I know is that I am very glad that I decided be spontaneous last week, since it resulted in me getting a pair of running shoes that so far I have really, really enjoyed running in.

Now of all people, I know that a 50 mile review is too soon to really know how good or great a pair of running shoes are, but…it is a pretty damn good start. Now it will be how they continue to work for me over the next 150 miles that will really determine how good they are.

Which means at some point in the next month or two (since I replace my running shoes at 400 miles or so), I will be looking very closely at the Nike Lunar Glide V7’s. I am really hoping that they fit me as well as the V5’s and that this is the start of a long relationship with the Nike Lunar Glide (series).

A guy can dream and hope can’t he.