New Shoes!

Saturday I went to get professionally fitted for new shoes. I went after walking four miles, making sure my feet were properly swollen (and probably properly stinky as well).

But I think I did the wrong thing. Instead of going to a running shoe store, I ended up at a store that fits people with foot problems like hammer toes and bunions and an apparent desire to never bend your feet naturally. They had all of about two choices of shoe brands.

One style had some funky Chinese words scrawled on the shoe. The part where the ball of your foot goes pointed straight up in the air while the heel sat flat on the ground. On another pair, the heel was lower than the rest of the shoe. She brought out still another pair for me, a pair of Egg Rolls or whatever they were called, and well...no one would wear them for their looks. They looked like moon boots without the boot part.

She explained to me that they are the best running shoe possible as far as longevity goes. They build up muscle strength, and they give you great back, hip and knee support. Apparently they also support your ankles really well. The thing is, and it's not such a small thing really...they make you feel like you've walked two miles for every one.

Yes. I had explained to her I will be walking 60 miles in three days. So why she thought I'd relish the thought of feeling like I've walked 120 in three days instead...is pretty much beyond me.

She had me do four laps around the store in them. They felt like my heel was falling off the back of the shoe. I hated them after about three steps, but I obliged and did the four laps, stopping to gawk at really cute sandals on the way around.

Then she put the other option on me. Brooks Addiction shoes. They're apparently the best running shoes you can get, and as far as I could tell, they were comfortable enough to buy. I actually needed an 8.5w instead of my usual 7.5w.

So here they are. My polio shoes:



They actually are kind of photogenic. Because they don't look even remotely as good as this in person. I feel like I'm standing on platforms to make my legs the same length. As I did my laps in them, I stopped to hint how much cuter the other Brooks running shoes were. She said no, the cute ones were way too curvy for my feet. These, and the Egg Rolls, are apparently the only styles that will work for my very straight, wide feet.

Nice to know there's some part of my body that isn't overly curvy.

I suppose I will grow to love them. As long as they're comfortable and will carry my giant butt 60 miles, who cares what they look like. Right?

Right.

Oh, and those really cute sandals...they were $220. Um. Yeah. TWO-HUNDRED-TWENTY DOLLARS for a glorified flip flop. I stuck with the $100 polio shoes.