Steal of a Deal!

I happen to be a very luck guy in that my in-laws live in a very cool place to visit and run, San Diego. Every time we go down to visit, I thank my lucky stars that they don't live in someplace like Modesto. (No offense to Modestians, but really, compared to San Diego, you too would rather be there than the Valley in the Wintertime.) Not only is there plenty of trails to plant my road weary feet, there is a plethora of running stores. Which means at Christmas time I get gift cards, usually to Road Runner Sports. One thing that I have noticed with age, is that I refuse to pay full retail for some nylon sewn to some blown rubber with some kind of air bag, gel cel, torsion bar or any other assorted shock absorbers. To put it in plain English, I'm a cheapskate!

So yesterday as I was spending my last day in the land of perpetual 70 degrees I made a journey to cash in my plastic for some well deserved merchandise. This way I could help stimulate the economy as I stimulate my cardio-vascular system. Once arriving at Road Runner Sports I skipped the main store and went straight to the back where there is a store room and a tent set up with all the clearance and returned items. As a size 13, it is very difficult to ever find a great deal without putting in a special online order and upon first rummaging of the wares I found nothing. However, after 15-20 minutes of disappointment I headed for the main store when out of the corner of my eye I caught the glint of bright neon yellow and lo and behold, there they were! At first I was sure it would be a mistake and read size 11.5 or some other toe pinching size on the tag, but as I lifted the Nike Lunar Elites the orange clearance tag read size 13, $30.29! My heart raced, my palms got sweaty and my vision blurred. The running gods finally smiled upon me with a gift from heaven. Clutching my find, I carefully examined the shoes to find that they had maybe been worn once, twice at most. No rips, blemishes or defects. Plus, they were this year's model and colors. Normally I would have to settle for the past year's model, but not this go around.

So after 60 straight days of pounding the pavement, trails, canals and country lanes, I will sport a new pair of Nike Elites to help carry me along on my quest to be the best old fart runner I can be.