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Folders

Unlikely source of inspirationMar 31st 2009, 4:47pm
"The hay is in the barn."Mar 22nd 2009, 5:49pm
Shoe Drama, Part 2Mar 20th 2009, 11:40am
Shoe DramaMar 19th 2009, 4:52pm
Countdown to Paris: three weeks!Mar 15th 2009, 9:36pm
 

 

Shoe Drama

Published by
Clover   Mar 19th 2009, 4:52pm
Comments

I have a serious dilemma, folks. 

(Warning:  this post will seem trivial and self-indulgent to non-runners, who know that the earth is warming and the economy is tanking and all kinds of shit is happening.  This is for runners, who will understand.)

I can't decide which shoes to wear for the Paris Marathon in two weeks.

I work for a great big wonderful sportswear company.  I train and race exclusively in shoes made by this company, as I've done since I started working here two years ago.  I've run marathons in several of our current lightweight trainers, and would gladly run another marathon in the Air Zoom Elite, the LunarTrainer, or the Air Zoom Limitless. 

Before I started working here, I wore whatever was cheap.  Only once did I pay full retail for a pair of shoes, and they were not Nikes.  I went to a cool little independent running specialty shop, where the owner fitted me, chatted me up, and a few months later hired me to work part-time. 

The shoes for which I paid full retail made me feel really, really fast.  They fit better than any shoes I've had before or since.  They were MADE for my feet.  I bought them in anticipation of the 2006 Portland Marathon.

Of all the races I've ever run, I'm proudest of the 2006 Portland Marathon.  I broke my collarbone in a cycling accident six weeks to the day before race day, and had to wear a sling that made running impossibly clumsy.  (I ran Hood to Coast in the sling, having committed to a team some time before.  There are pictures to prove this.  The pictures are quite funny.)  I trained on a stationary bike to keep my cardio fitness intact.  On race day, I took off my sling and ran for the first time in six weeks.  My magic fast shoes and I ran our first sub-four-hour (3:48) marathon that day--a big milestone for a casual recreational runner.

I told a friend this story, and he somehow, miraculously, procured a pair of these amazing shoes in my size, despite the fact that they've been discontinued for ages.  They are even the same colorway as my old pair, which I reluctantly retired when they were long past shot. 

I put them on and feel impossibly fast.  They're not made by my employer.  I feel guilty even having them in my apartment.  And I really want to wear them in Paris.

My last long run is this Sunday.  I want to wear my race-day shoes for it. 

I am SO conflicted.

My life is SUCH a soap opera.

I do not know what to do.

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