Day 11 Terms of Endurance

A couple of days ago, I broke in a pair of new running shoes.   I am always surprised at the difference it makes.  And always shocked by how dead the old shoes now feel.

I learned the hard way about needing to replace running shoes.  A few years ago, I ran all winter and spring in a pair of already old shoes.  I didn’t feel the need to buy any new ones.  But quite suddenly, my heel began to hurt, tolerable at first, but then consistently, particularly when I got out of bed in the morning, and then more and more throughout the day as the weeks wore on.  My stubbornness pushed me into trouble again.  I ended up with Plantar Fasciitis – which sounds a bit like the bubonic plague – but is actually more like a bone spur.  It was the result of wearing old shoes which had the life pounded out of them.  I could not run at all that summer.  When it comes down to it, running shoes are only one of two necessary expenses you have in order to run.  And while the average American woman has about 25 pairs of shoes (no joke), when she starts running, she digs out a pair of athletic shoes she bought a hundred years ago when her first child was born and now uses for mowing the lawn.  So, if you are running at all, invest in a pair of good shoes.  It will keep you from becoming roadkill.  And it will cost you less than a trip to the doctor for an injury. 

The other necessary expense?  Well, Target had the little Snickers on sale this week :)

Needless to say, I am ready to run.

That summer I missed running, by the way, I exercised by riding my bike alongside Laura while she ran.  We had a nice shady path that we liked near the Chik Fil A restaurant, one of the places of worship in Memphis.  The trail ran alongside the Wolf River in a nature preserve.  Crossing over a small wooden bridge, we noticed day after day, turtles sunning themselves below on a log in a small pond.  One day I got a little bit ahead of Laura and rode my bike down to the edge of the pond to view the turtles from a closer perspective.  WHAT??? I shouted.  Laura came running.  “What’s the matter, Mom?”  Those turtles which we had admired ALL summer were fake.  And even the log was painted concrete.   We still laugh about it.  So much for wildlife in Memphis!  Laughter too is a term of endurance in long distance runnng.  Test after test has proven that laughter either shrinks the miles or makes it seem like you run faster.  Guaranteed.