Not the standard

Forget the salespeople, forget the studies, forget even the fashion. The only thing that matters when purchasing new running shoes is YOUR feet! Just like my brain and my body shouldn’t fit into a standardized vice grip, nor should my feet. They’re not the Barbie of all feets, nor are they the ogres, they’re just my feet! MY FEET, I cannot emphasize that enough!

My feet. My way.

However, somewhere along the line, I stopped listening to my feet. Maybe it was because I was off the pavement for so long, or because I was so faithful to one style shoe for so long, or because, in a moment of weakness, I fell in lust with the colour of another shoe, I don’t know, but I started listening to those who have never run a day in my feet. Big mistake! How the heck do they know what my feet want? They don’t.

I’m sure by now, you all know the story of my most recent shoe debacle, I’ve been lamenting it for practically 2 months now – still suffering the effects! Miserably unsuited for my feet, it took just one run for those shoes to rub me the wrong way. My poppy foot veins still smart at the mere thought of them. Why? Because I did NOT listen to my feet.

I went into the running shop, tried those splash of colour shoes on multiple times, chatted extensively with the sales chick who looked more like a casual runner than a serious runner, who towed the company line, told me that by her eye my feet should in no way be in any other shoe than a supportive shoe. She wouldn’t even let me try on a shoe in another category. As soon as she saw my eyes wandering over to the less supportive styles, she practically blocked the shoe wall: “Nope, those shoes are not suitable for your feet, you belong in this style and only this style!”

I listened to her! I trusted her supposed knowledge! I took her word for it! I did not go for a pre-purchase run – big mistake. I did not run on the treadmill with them, because I hate treadmill running – big mistake. I went home, laced those suckers up, and hit the pavement – BIG MISTAKE!

And so, just days after spending nearly $200 on one pair of sneakers, with now achy feet in tow, I was again on the hunt for another pair. But this time, I was going to listen to my feet.

I went back to that same shop, talked to that same sales chick, and again, she blocked me from looking at any other shoe beyond the supportive shoes. I then proceeded to investigate two more shops before I entered Forerunners, a store that is not only run by skilled competitive runners, but that also seems to operate with an open mind. The sales dude looked at my feet just as the sales chick in the other shop had, and then proceeded to bring out shoe after shoe after shoe. With every try, he asked what I liked and what I didn’t, then he brought out even more – spanning ALL styles and fits. He had me pace the shop and if I liked the shoe, he encouraged me to go out in the pouring rain and give them a run. I did, several times, with multiple shoes.

And when my feet slid into those aqua blue Brooks Ghost 5 shoes, it was like they were my very own glass slipper. They were snug, but not too tight. There was no rubbing, no potential hot spots. My ankles didn’t cave to one side when running in them. It was love at first fit. And yet, it was a shoe, a more neutral style, that the sales chick at the other shop wouldn’t even let me glance at, let alone try on.

I’ve been running in these shoes for a month now, and I still love them like I did that first day. Just goes to show, my feet know my feet best.

YESTERDAY’S RUN:

• BG before: 6.4 (1/2 apple no bolus and scoop PB)
• Temp. basal: none
• Distance: 6.29 km
• Time: 49 minutes; 40 minutes running: 10:1 x 4
• BG after: 5.2