“I think I should get new sneakers.”
This phrase, joyfully uttered by runners worldwide, just escaped my
lips. I’ve been thinking that maybe part of my issue with running is that I
have the wrong foot wear. I have two new pairs that were purchased within the
last 3 months but both have been giving me grief. One pair gives me blisters
and the other likes to drive rocks up through the soles of my feet. Fun times.
Ever supportive, Sugar jumped back up on the encouragement band wagon
and suggested I go out and get a pair of Saucony’s. He recently bought a pair
and swears he will never own any other kind. I have been cheaping out on the
sneaker front, not wanting to pay too much for something that I really don’t
enjoy using or could quit doing at any time. Maybe it’s time to suck it up and
invest in something that will actually be comfortable when I run.
Capitalizing
on his desire for me to have a positive running experience, I suggested to
Sugar that he accompany me to the store to buy my new sneakers. There was a
single second of sheer panic in his eyes as he realized there was no way out
before he cleverly masked it with husbandly duty and agreed to come along for
support.
We headed downtown to Biped Sports. Within 5 minutes I was running on
the store treadmill in a pair of 7 ½ blue and pink Sauconys that matched my outfit.
The sneakers have words like offset, power grid and guide 7 on them but I have
no idea what any of that means. What I do know is that my feet didn’t hurt when
I ran on the treadmill and that was a wonderful feeling. Sugar suggested I stay
on the treadmill until I was sure the shoes were a good match, which, in his
words, “could take a while.” I ran flat
and on an incline, fast and slow, wondering if anyone else had ever run on a
treadmill wearing a dress. All the while Sugar sat smiling in the chair next to
me watching the T.V. above my head. Like I said, ever supportive.
We paid for the shoes (which were actually much less than I thought),
got some good advice from the staff on how to tie my new sneakers to help avoid
blisters and headed home. For the first time in a long time I was looking
forward to the next group run.
This evening armed with my new feet pleasers, fuel belt and a vat of
glide I headed out with the group, feeling very runnerish. 8 km was on everyone’s
schedule. I have no schedule so I figured I’d follow the group and see where I
ended up.
By kilometer two I was feeling the effects of the heat and started
convincing myself that I couldn’t run 8km. I started thinking about doing 6km
or going a different route that was only 5km or…..then out of nowhere, I
remembered something I once heard from a very wise PRCer: “Run the kilometer you are in.”
So I told my brain that we were running 3km. My brain was fine with
that. It was only one more kilometer. At the 3km point, I told my brain we were
going to do one more to make it to 4km. My brain was okay with that as well.
After an hour I had finished the 8k. My brain had no idea I was so
clever. More importantly, there were no blisters and no rocks sticking out of
my arches. BEST.SNEAKERS.EVER.
I had a not-unpleasant run. I selected the smiley face on my running app
when it asked how I felt. Not the big toothy grin, just the smile. I don't want to get running's hopes up just yet. Still, I'm hopeful this won’t be a one hit wonder.
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