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August 19, 2004

Shoes

I have bunions, ok? There, I’ve said it. They’re ugly. I shouldn’t wear strappy shoes (but I do sometimes.) My brother thinks its funny to call me “Paul” (as in Bunyan) and ask me where my ox, Babe, is.

So shoes can be tricky. The toebox needs to be wide and the heel narrow. The heel is almost never narrow enough, so I have to lace the shoes in a certain way to reduce slippage. For the most part, I think I’ve just gotten used to shoes that slip a little on the heel. A friend who is a Fila rep had outfitted our Beach to Bay relay team with Fila gear, and I’ve been wearing the Flows I got and am loving them. They fit better than any shoes I’ve worn in a long time. And they’re really light, too.

I’m really good (or bad, depending on how you look at it) at switching out my shoes long before they get worn out. Plus, I rotate out shoes and will have three or four pair going at one time: lighter shoes for faster and longer stuff and more cushiony shoes for easy days. Still, when you live in swampy and occasionally run twice a day it’s hard to keep the nasty factor down. There are times I’ll put on shoes that haven’t dried out from the day before, which magnifies the nastiness. We have a heap of shoes in the garage that you can smell sometimes as you’re pulling the car in.

Keeping in mind the nastiness of my shoes consider this story from earlier this summer. I had run in the morning and then showered at work, leaving my wet shoes and clothes in the locker in the locker room there. I decided to leave at lunch that day, and when I went down to retrieve my clothes my shoes were missing. I thought maybe I’d left them right outside the shower so I walked around the corner to check. As I was coming back around into the main area of the locker room this woman walks in - wearing my shoes! She’d just gone out for a workout in them. Although we worked in the same building I didn’t know her – I don’t even think I’d seen her before. All I could think to say after we established that she was, in fact, wearing my shoes, was “That’s so gross!” She was embarrassed and apologized, but I was so stunned I really couldn’t think of anything other than how yucky it was for both of us. I had some stranger’s sweaty feet in my shoes, and she had just worn some stranger’s still-wet shoes for a workout. She had reached into that locker with all my sweaty nasty stuff. Un-believable. Some friends who traveled to Lubbock for the Buffalo Springs Half Ironman in June (and who are headed to Pike's Peak today!) bought me a sticker at a roadside shop somewhere in West Texas that says:

“If you walk a mile in my shoes … keep on going. I’ve got more shoes.”

Posted by jenandmats at August 19, 2004 8:37 AM

Comments

OH MY GOD!!! That is SO disgusting. I would never think to wear shoes that I found in a locker at the gym. I can't believe that some woman would do that.

I agree with you about having multiple pairs of shoes. It isn't unusual for me to have at least three pairs in rotation at one time. I like to have one pair for track/fast runs that I associate with running fast. I also like having a "clunky" pair to wear for my slow easy runs that I feel like I have to run easy in.

PS I also enjoy reading your entries.

Blondie

Posted by: Blondie at August 19, 2004 10:58 AM