Shoes

I am a shoe lover. However, if you look in my closest, you won’t see racks of colorful high heels and boots, you’ll see a tub full of old running shoes. I wear running shoes all the time. The exceptions being in the summer I wear river running sandals and for church I wear dress shoes. There are a few reasons for this fashion choice. As kids we were taught all the time by my dad to wear good shoes wherever you go in case you need to walk. This comes from having unreliable cars that would break down a lot. The biggest reason is for comfort and for orthopedic health. I see shoes that I think are cute all the time. I try them on and instantly notice there is no support in the shoe. I imagine that all women who wear cute shoes are constantly in pain and having foot, knee, and back problems. I don’t know if that’s the case, but that’s what happens to me when I wear non-running shoes.

In the running world, it’s recommended to have at least two pairs of shoes that you alternate wearing for runs so the shoe can “rest”. Imagine the cushy stuff in the shoe and that it gets compressed whenever you go running. Alternating shoes means the cushy stuff can expand back and you always get the full support of your shoes.

Since I’ve had a family and family budget, it’s been difficult to justify buying a new pair of running shoes for $90. I say $90 because if you go into a running store, they help you to know if you pronate or supinate, what kind of support you need for the type of running you do and essentially hand you three shoes that fit your needs to choose from. It’s very likely that each of these shoes will be between $80 and $100. Completely worth it if you are running a marathon and want to avoid injury. 

 

Not wanting to spend so much money on myself, I have been wearing the several pairs running shoes I do have into the ground. The poor shoes. I have used them so much, the cushy stuff I was talking about doesn’t expand anymore. Lots holes and no traction. And very dirty. I had to  finally admit that my shoes were dead. Sort of sad. I’ve had lots of good times with these shoes – all the hikes, runs, and races. However, It was time to move on. I still couldn’t bring myself to buy $90 shoes, but I did use a coupon and got a very comfortable pair for $30. Maybe now I won’t feel like a hobo quite so much.