Shoe failure??

My trusty Specialized mountain bike shoes decided to give out today, which convieniently enough is the day before my first cyclocross race. I rushed off to Bikeworld to pick up a new pair of shoes, and ended up hurting my wallet by getting some Sidi Dominators.

They cost about 50% more than my previous pair of shoes after the ISU Cycling discount. I can definitely tell a difference with even a couple miles on them.
1) Not fun at all to walk in. The Specialized were okay in this regard. I am torn on what to do now; I don't want to destroy my Sidis running up flights of stairs while delivering. I found some casual mtb shoes on PricePoint that aren't too bad looking, and the price is right.

2) Lighter.

3) Stiffer.

4) New shoe smell! My old ones are literally rotting apart. They always feel damp. Then again I have about 4000 miles of riding, and lots of walking and running in them. They come on and off constantly. If you ever heard grinding and popping coming up from behind you, that was me walking to class in my cycling shoes.

5) More connected. I think a lot of it has to do with the narrower distance between the treads and cleats, so my Eggbeaters pretty much lock in.

Well I will give them a real test tomorrow when I am running up hills while shouldering a bike.