Mizuno Wave Sayonara Review

It was a year ago that I first discovered my love of running. I’m not very fast, and I can’t run very far, but it feels so amazing to move. I looked forward to running as a chance to think through my thoughts and clear my mind. When anxiety started becoming an issue last winter I took a hiatus from running. When your mind is overrun with worries the last thing you need is more time to think about them. I started getting into classes that blasted music and didn’t really give me time to think, like Zumba and Soul Cycle. As much as I loved them, I really missed running. I missed being able to see tangible progress from week to week and improvements in my overall fitness. I also missed the running community. I slowly started to add running back into my life and made a goal to run a half marathon. I kept distances short and didn’t adhere to any running schedule. Now that stress doesn’t affect me like it once did I’m ready to make a firm commitment to running once again.

It felt like the running Gods were blessing my decision when I found out I was selected by FitFluential to review Mizuno‘s new Wave Sayonara sneakers.

Disclaimer: The following post is sponsored by FitFLuential LLC on behalf of Mizuno. All opinions are always my own.

I have always wanted to try Mizunos. My best friend in high school (Megan) was a star track and cross-country runner. She had gold Mizunos that she wore for all her races, where she took home a lot of gold. When I went to get fitted at my local running store last year when I decided to try out running I was bummed to find they didn’t carry Mizunos. I always wondered what they were like. I’m so excited that now not only do I know, but that I can share what I learned with you!

The Sayonaras are a neutral shoe but have cushioning for mild over or under-pronators. I am a slight over-pronator while Josh is a slight under-pronator. As soon as I put on the shoes I could feel how cushioned they are, especially in the toe. They are incredibly light, weighing only 7.1 ounces and have a 10mm drop. The shoes I’ve run in previously are all 8mm so I was nervous it would feel strange to run in a shoe with a higher mm drop. I’m happy to say my feet didn’t notice a difference. Did you notice  the shoe is laced different in this one than the first picture? I got so excited to take the shoes out of the box and run in them the day I got them that I packed them up to take with me to Josh’s and laced them in a hurry. They didn’t affect my run at all so I didn’t even notice until after I had taken and edited all my photos, and went to grab them the next day for another run. I felt like such a goober. So I thought I would take a picture to show you how I normally lace them. It helps keep my ankles nice and secure.

Love the sexy socks? In my haste in packing I grabbed the only clean socks I could find, not realizing they were Josh’s, a size too big, and ridiculously high. I still rocked them though. ;p

 

I normally work out in a compression sock. I borrowed these from Josh for my second day of running and snapped a pic on my phone to show the difference.

On both days I decided to run a 5k around different places in State College. This is totally unscientific but I feel like much like my body has a default weight it tends to go to when I’m not actively trying to gain or lose weight I have a default running distance. As long as I’m working out somewhat regularly my body will be able to run a 5k.  The time will vary like crazy but my body will have the endurance to be able to keep me moving for those three miles.

So how was running in these shoes? Amazing. They felt like when you get a good stretch, that relief that just floods your body. They just molded to my feet and allowed me to keep going. My feet never got tired wearing them so I never needed to take a walking break.  They felt good even when they were tied wrong, when I was wearing the wrong socks, and when I was running in 97% humidity. These are without a doubt my new running shoes.

I was pretty proud of my photo editing skills on this one. 😀 I love the hashtag #wavesayonara for the shoes. We all have competition we’re fighting. For me it’s not other runners, I’m the least competitive runner on the planet.  My competition is my thoughts. When I run now my thoughts are worry free. I think about the future, about getting married, about moving across the country, about starting my career, and about reaching my fitness goals. I think about all the blessings I have, and all I have to look forward to. I’m leaving my worries in the dust. And to me, that’s winning.

The Mizuno Wave Sayonaras are incredible shoes. They’re also super cute. I love when I can match my workout clothes  to my shoes. 😀 They’re available starting July 5 for $119.99. If you’re looking for new running shoes I highly recommend checking these out.

Questions of the Day: Are you a Mizuno fan? What’s your default running distance?