New Shoes

Well, I have worn out my pair of Nike Air Structures and I am bouncing back and forth wearing those and a pair of Mizuno Wave Riders until I can get a new pair this upcoming week, trying to keep my feet happy while pounding out 70 miles. Now that I have reached a point that I am able to run 60-70 miles per week, it has both its blessings and curses. One of those curses is that I go through twice as many running shoes during the year than I would if I was just running minimal mileage. The blessing is, I get twice as many new shoes this year than I normally would! And I must confess, I do have a running shoe fetish.

When my wife and I met in college, she was amazed to have met a man with twice as many shoes in his closet as she had in hers. (You should see how many pairs of shoes she has in our closet!) I had at least 20 pairs of assorted worn out trainers, new trainers, racing flats, cross country spikes, indoor spikes, practice spikes, and racing spikes, both middle distance and longer distance for each category of shoe. It was a shoe orgy in my closet. And the colors! There was not just the customary white and blue, but orange, purple, hot pink, green, yellow, and every other color under the sun, just waiting to be slipped on my feet for a run. Ahhhh, how I miss the good ol' days when I would agonize over which pair should I wear at work out today? Oh no, it is raining and muddy at the park, which pair should I wear that I don't mind being caked in mud? Fast 400's today, hmmm, should I wear the Zoom Ultras today or the Zoom D's?

Then there were the catalogs! Eastbay, Road-Runner Sports, Nike and Adidas catalogs that I could spend hours trying to determine which shoe must join my entourage of running performance equipment. If there was a new version of a racing flat or spike, I was sure to have it and if I did not, you could bet it would not be long before it made its way to my collection. Nike was and still is my shoe of choice, but I am an equal opportunity kind of guy, so there were adidas, Asics, Saucony, Brooks, and Reebok shoes mixing it up with the assorted Nikes. All living in perfect peace and harmony. No shoe had to ask, "Can't we all just get along?"

So the time has come again and the agonizing process of choosing a new shoe is at hand. Which one should I go with? Do I buy a new pair of Nike Air Structures or do I get the new Lunar Glide? Should I try the adidas Response Cushion or the Saucony Grid? The Mizuno Wave Rider fits well, but I really like the Asics DS trainer. Oh how I wish I had Oprah's closet and I could own them all. It is a good thing I don't own a running shoe store, I would definitely eat up the profits with my appetite for new running shoes.

So it is off to shopping for new shoes and until the next time, keep running, stay healthy and enjoy those shoes that keep your feet happy!
SP