I, like many thousands of other people in the city lately, am relishing the arrival of spring. The warmer weather and the disappearance of snow have me nearly giddy with happiness. The days are noticeably lengthier, and our old friend the sun has been coming around much more often. Sunlight people! It’s a great time of year.
Spring is also the beginning of race season, and as a novice runner, an exciting time for me. I have already registered for three races this season, the most challenging of which will be a half marathon in October. With the goal of finishing ‘the Half’ looming over me, and my intense desire not to embarrass myself, I decided that I should get a new pair of running shoes – equipment can’t do the hard work for you, but it can help.
I’d heard a lot of good things about the shopping experience at a particular store, so I decided to check it out. The sales person evaluated my gait and recommended a shoe with more arch support (I have flat feet). I had no reason to distrust the salesperson, but the hefty price tag of the pair he recommended was a bit discouraging. I decided to take some time to think about the purchase. Fast-forward about three hours, and I’m in a Winners trying on discount running shoes. These shoes are by a good brand, and super comfy. PLUS they are only $50, which my pocketbook finds much more agreeable than the other shoes I had tried on that day. Always a sucker for a good deal, I buy the shoes and am off to the races (so to speak).
The shoes look great, feel pretty good, and most importantly, they were a great deal! I am pretty happy with myself. That is, until I go to see a physiotherapist who tells me my gait is ‘unstable’… probably a big contributing factor to the knee problems I’ve been having. Dammit! So, I ask the guy, point blank: “Would a shoe with more support help my running?” And the dude is like “Yes.” Crap! I should have listened to the shoe expert and followed his advice. Sigh…
Needless to say, I have gone and purchased another pair of shoes… meaning that I wasted spent $50 on shoes that look nice, but aren’t very functional for all the running I want to do this year. In my attempt to save some cash and get a good deal, I ended up spending more!!! Ne’er has a better example of a backfire been executed by the likes of me.
I feel like this little story is an allegory for the way many of us live our lives. We get good advice. It makes perfect sense. But somehow we think we know better and ignore that good advice. Only to find out that the expert was right all along(duh!) And our ill-advised decision to ignore common sense and good advice comes back to bite us in our behinds. Why didn’t I just listen to the guy when he told me I needed more arch support???? Maybe it’s because I was in denial about just how much support I really need. I thought I could coast along without any support… play footloose and fancy free. When really, what I need is some stabilization.
I’ve come to realize that in running shoes, as in other aspects of my life, I should learn to ask for and accept support. If I’m going to be in this life for the long haul, I should find the best possible way to run the race. Accepting support from a good shoe, or life partner, or friends, just might make the going a little easier.
