Can Something This Ugly Carry Me to Mile 13.1?

I decided it was time to break down and purchase new, ridiculously over-priced, running shoes after the number of miles I ran in my last pair while attempting to train for the marathon. If you're not a runner, you'd be surprised to learn what goes into the proper fitting of a running shoe. I have always purchased my shoes at Fleet Feet. The staff is trained on what to look for as they watch you run on a treadmill, which tracks how your foot hits the ground and whether or not it pronates. Then they fit you to the shoe which will correct whatever bad habit you've picked up on the path. For me, like everything else on my body (beginning with my mismatched foot size...ones a 7, the other an 8) only one pronates, my left foot turns in after my foot touches the ground. The staff then brings out a few different shoes to run in and see which best corrects the problem. After they find a few good shoes it's up to the runner to decide which feels the best. Of the 3 pairs my shoe-tech brought me, and as hard as I tried to "feel good" in the cute shoes, I ended up feeling best in these pretty things:



I had my first run in them today in Wheaton. I am having a reeeeally hard time getting motivated to run in Wheaton. The prairie path isn't safe for a young female listening to her ipod. Though every house in Wheaton is cuter than the next and the residents seem to be competing to see who can design the most beautiful landscape or flower pot or garden, it's just not the same as the congested city sidewalks and lakefront. However, my ugly shoes "stepped up" and did their job, carrying me 2.23 miles...2.23 of the 154 miles I will be running before August 2 for the Chicago Rock & Roll 1/2 Marathon! As any runner knows, you don't pick your running shoes for how they look, I just wish the manufactures would catch on and design them all in pretty pink!

song-of-the-day|"The Motions"|by Matthew West