My knees started hurting a little after runs a couple of weeks ago, so I did what any girl with an ache of pretty much any kind will do -- I went shoe shopping. My shoes have been extremely good to me, so I figured I would just pick up a new pair of them. Unfortunately, the store was out of them due to back-to-school or the Boulder Marathon this weekend, or the fact that they are awesome. I forget which.
The tall, skinny, fast looking shoe guy studied my feet for a minute and asked if I would like to try something else. He said that my usual shoe provides a lot of support that I don't really need because I don't prorate or something like that. (Prorate is not the right word)
He fitted me into a very fast looking, soft, comfortable shoe that felt really good on my foot, but not in my wallet. I have come to accept the fact that a decent running shoe is going to cost me about $100, but I usually try to keep it under $100. This one was not. Regardless, the shoes came home with me, and I was filled with a hope that these would be the shoes I would run the marathon in, and then ceremoniously hang up after the marathon so I could do something else for a while.
It was probably not a good idea that my first run in the new shoes was a 12 miler. I started getting a blister about mile 6, shin splints about mile 9, and a very bad attitude towards the shoes at mile 10. Since the 12 miler, I have also taken the shoes on a 4 mile run and an 8 mile run. Admittedly, they are probably not as horrible as I had come to believe. They are soft and comfortable. However, a couple of days ago, I stopped by the running store and picked up another pair of my usual shoes and learned a very valuable lesson -- if something is working for you, love the one you're with.
