Now, anyone who knows anything about running knows that the most important thing is to have a good pair of running shoes. Of course, I am not anyone who knows anything about running, so I was running in a pair of shoes that I bought like 3 years ago at the Reebok outlet. Works for me. But when I was reading my marathon training book, she pointed out that after about 5 miles or so, you will be really glad that you have a good pair of shoes. And Sara had already sprung for a good pair, so I couldn't let her have yet another advantage over me.
So last Saturday, I got up and got dressed in a really cute outfit, thinking that I should at least look cute since I was about to make a fool out of myself. I put on a pair of flip-flops, and headed off to RunTex in Georgetown. I certainly wasn't going to try and figure out this shoe thing on my own...I needed someone who knows what they're talking about.
Luckily, the only people who were there when I got there were the two guys who were working there. So, I was thinking that this might not be as humiliating as I thought. I was wrong.
One of the guys came over to help me, and I pretty much told him my plight. He was very nice and promised that he would help me find a great pair of shoes. The first thing he made me do was go into this room that basically looked like a workout studio - wood floors, mirrors along the walls, etc. Then he told me to walk naturally back and forth across the room while he watched me. Do you know how hard it is to walk naturally when someone is staring at your every move??
Then he measured my feet. He told me that it was usually a good idea to buy a half size or a size bigger in running shoes, to account for swelling. COME AGAIN?? Yes, apparently around mile 7 or 8 or so, your feet begin to swell. I, of course, was oblivious to this fact since I had never made it past about mile 3. So I have that to look forward to...fantastic.
Anyway, back to the shoe guy. He went to the back and brought back like 10-15 pairs of shoes for me to try. Then he was like, "Just put your socks on and we'll start trying them on." Ummm...you mean I was supposed to wear socks? I thought my flip-flops looked pretty cute. Luckily, he snagged a pair from the back for me to use, and we got started. Every time I would put on a new pair of shoes, we would go back into the dreaded studio and he would ask me to walk back and forth, then JOG back and forth for a few minutes. Then he would babble off all of this technical stuff about arch support and stability and my toes and heels and blah, blah, blah. They pretty much all felt the same to me. And, after the 3rd or 4th pair, my cute outfit was starting to get a little sweaty and disgusting.
To top it all off, somewhere in the midst of all this, the store had started to fill up with a bunch of "hardcores" who I am pretty sure were laughing and talking about me behind my back.
Well, after about 30 minutes of trying different shoes, and me trying to give as much feedback as possible, we narrowed it down to 2 pairs. One was red, and one was blue. I thought we would just play Eeny, Meeny, Miney, Mo or Rock, Paper, Scissors or something, but he was a bit more thorough. First he made me try on the red left foot with the blue right foot, then vice versa, then I had to try on both pairs again and jog in them. FINALLY, we decided on the blue pair. Or the Saucony Guides, which is what the box said. TA-DA!!
So last Saturday, I got up and got dressed in a really cute outfit, thinking that I should at least look cute since I was about to make a fool out of myself. I put on a pair of flip-flops, and headed off to RunTex in Georgetown. I certainly wasn't going to try and figure out this shoe thing on my own...I needed someone who knows what they're talking about.
Luckily, the only people who were there when I got there were the two guys who were working there. So, I was thinking that this might not be as humiliating as I thought. I was wrong.
One of the guys came over to help me, and I pretty much told him my plight. He was very nice and promised that he would help me find a great pair of shoes. The first thing he made me do was go into this room that basically looked like a workout studio - wood floors, mirrors along the walls, etc. Then he told me to walk naturally back and forth across the room while he watched me. Do you know how hard it is to walk naturally when someone is staring at your every move??
Then he measured my feet. He told me that it was usually a good idea to buy a half size or a size bigger in running shoes, to account for swelling. COME AGAIN?? Yes, apparently around mile 7 or 8 or so, your feet begin to swell. I, of course, was oblivious to this fact since I had never made it past about mile 3. So I have that to look forward to...fantastic.
Anyway, back to the shoe guy. He went to the back and brought back like 10-15 pairs of shoes for me to try. Then he was like, "Just put your socks on and we'll start trying them on." Ummm...you mean I was supposed to wear socks? I thought my flip-flops looked pretty cute. Luckily, he snagged a pair from the back for me to use, and we got started. Every time I would put on a new pair of shoes, we would go back into the dreaded studio and he would ask me to walk back and forth, then JOG back and forth for a few minutes. Then he would babble off all of this technical stuff about arch support and stability and my toes and heels and blah, blah, blah. They pretty much all felt the same to me. And, after the 3rd or 4th pair, my cute outfit was starting to get a little sweaty and disgusting.
To top it all off, somewhere in the midst of all this, the store had started to fill up with a bunch of "hardcores" who I am pretty sure were laughing and talking about me behind my back.
Well, after about 30 minutes of trying different shoes, and me trying to give as much feedback as possible, we narrowed it down to 2 pairs. One was red, and one was blue. I thought we would just play Eeny, Meeny, Miney, Mo or Rock, Paper, Scissors or something, but he was a bit more thorough. First he made me try on the red left foot with the blue right foot, then vice versa, then I had to try on both pairs again and jog in them. FINALLY, we decided on the blue pair. Or the Saucony Guides, which is what the box said. TA-DA!!
I was more than ready to check out and be on my merry way. But WAIT..."Didn't you know that cotton socks are from the devil?? You should probably get some that are made of some super fancy government-created polyester with drynamix (yes that is a real word)." Well, I figured, if I am about to pay 90 something dollars for a pair of shoes, why not throw in 20 more for 2 pairs of socks?
So I proceeded to the register, closed my eyes and signed the receipt. The grand total was $118.95, which is pretty much like 2 days worth of work for me. I hate myself.
So I proceeded to the register, closed my eyes and signed the receipt. The grand total was $118.95, which is pretty much like 2 days worth of work for me. I hate myself.
Oh Janell, just imagine . . . in three months or so you'll be running that dumb Runtex store! And you can laugh at all the idiots who come into the stores with NO SOCKS???!!! and can't tell the difference in the 15 pairs of shoes. Love you so much~! - Sara Gillian
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