42: Marathon Shoes

I think the last time I tried on a pair of Brooks my impression was: feels like strap-on crackers. Dismissed! I've never looked back; but today I set out to find my marathon shoes, so I can start breaking them in, and I decided to keep an open mind.

I went to Jack Rabbit, where I get a nice discount and they never seem to be working on commission, though they probably are. It was busy so I just told the assistant to bring me my size in the new version of the same style of Asics I've been wearing. "Yes, time for a new pair!" the guy said sarcastically raising an eyebrow at my filthy shoes. So what! I've been out running all over the place. Give me a break!

I took the pair for a spin on the treadmill, just to make sure the fit hadn't changed, but it had. My heel popped out. We re-laced and I tried again. Same thing. I was anxious to get out of the store so I considered just taking the shoes and making the best of it but then I imagined my heel popping out of my shoe for 26.2 miles and...

We sat down and discussed what I'd liked about my old Asics. Cushion, elevated heel, wide toe box... but I said I was willing to try something else. The guy was hesitant to let me move away from cushion considering my injury. He seemed stumped. I saw him go talk to one of the other associates and then he disappeared to the back.

When he returned, he pulled out a pair of low tech looking shoes. I'm past caring what color my shoes are (since they get covered with mud anyway after about two runs!) but these didn't even try to be pretty. Grey with blue and some kind of purple inverted Nike swoosh. "What brand is that?" I asked. My stomach sank as his lips formed the word, "Brooks." I half heartedly agreed to put one shoe on, only on the left foot. I took myself to the treadmill, with the Asics shoe still on my right foot, and ran.

Have you ever run in two radically different shoes? Kind of like dating a nice guy and a jerk in the same week. Instant depositioning where previously there might have been some interest. Bizarre!

As flat and un-cushioned as the Brooks was... as low to the ground... as long and narrow... the Brooks just felt more like shoes I'd want to keep running in. They were less cumbersome. I kind of liked that there wasn't so much cushion. I don't know if I'll feel the same way over a longer distance so, with the store's "satisfaction guaranteed" 2 week return policy, I'm giving them a 5 mile test run. If they aren't what I want, Jack Rabbit will let me exchange them. How do they stay in business with such kindness?

I've got my Brooks on right now, just getting used to how it feels to be wearing a running shoe that's so low and flatter footed. Using new information to reconsider something formerly dismissed is one of the greatest joys a person could know. It means there's no end to what I might discover in life. There are no dead ends, and no rabbit holes. Well, only the good kind.