Sunday, April 23, 2017

Hillary Clinton models Katy Perry designed shoes

Secretary Hillary Clinton's new role: shoe model?

A post not related to running... As I have gotten into running, many of my recent posts have been related. But I want to keep my non-runner readers happy and continue to use shoes as a lens to view the world.

The great news is that Through the Sole has been breaking records. Already this month, there have been over 7,600 pageviews!  Thank you for all your support.

But back to Secretary Clinton's shoes...



Singer Katy Perry launched a shoe line in February, according to People, naming many of the shoes for famous women, including Clinton, whom she campaigned for.

The Hillary shoe came in a light pink, now often referred to as millennial pink, or seafoam green and had a 3.5 inch clear heel with moons and stars floating inside, according to the New York Times. It retailed for $139.


Katy Perry Collection's The Hillary



Last week, the singer posted a picture of the former presidential candidate wearing the shoes on instagram with information on how to buy them (see above) and Internet controversy ensued. 

Conservative news websites ran headlines like, "Hillary Clinton Reduced to Modeling Shoes for Katy Perry" (Breitbart), and "Hillary Clinton Now Hawking Katy Perry Shoes On Instagram," (Daily Caller).

Other pointed out that Perry and Clinton have a long relationship. Clinton recently made a surprise appearance at the Unicef Snowflake Ball to present the singer with the Audrey Hepburn Humanitarian Award, according to the NY Times.

However, this was the first time the two connected on fashion. 

For the shoe brand, the results were great, the shoes began to quickly sell and appear now to be unavailable.

Clinton has not benefited in anyway from the shoes.


Monday, April 10, 2017

Trying a new kind of sole on running sneakers


I just crossed another finish line and this time in a new pair of sneakers from a new brand, the Brooks Neuro.

These shows look unusual and even heavy, but the sole is actually made of propulsion pods, very lightweight and responsive.

But before we get into more, let's do an update.

Prior to trying out the Brooks Neuro, I was continuing to run in the Asics Fuzex and Fuzex Lyte.

The Asics Fuzex (top) and Fuzex Lyte (bottom)

The Fuzex proved to have the right support for running distance without weighing me down. I ran the United Airlines NYC Half in March and shaved 4 minutes off my PR!


A post shared by Through the Sole: A Shoe Blog (@throughthesole) on


I also wear the Fuzex Lite for shorter training runs and other workouts, like Zumba, but I am finding they are only slightly lighter and less supportive.

Never being totally satisfied and feeling like my sneakers were beginning to get worn out, I decided to start looking into other sneakers. 

I tried the Runner's World Shoe Finder and the Brooks Neuro was one of the top matches, so I decided to try them.



They may look unusual, but I like the feel. They are lightweight, but very cushioned and fairly supportive. I feel like they make it easier to run faster and get a quick turnover between steps.

The sole of the Brooks Neuro

About that sole: as I mentioned earlier, it's made of propulsion pods, BioMoGo DNA foam in rubber casing. The ring is supposed to bounce energy back to the runner. The pod placement is also designed to add flexibility. 

The shoe is for neutral pronation and speed.

For me, there has been an adjustment period. After adding them into my training and liking that I felt faster, I decided to run a 10k in them. Two issues for caution: a lower heel drop and the tongue.