Commitment-phobe

My name is Carrie and I am a commitment-phobe. After having been hurt and let down so many times, how could I expect myself to fall in love and commit myself so easily ever again?

It's probably not what you think. I'm talking about running shoes. If you are an avid runner who goes through more than one pair per year, you know what I'm talking about.

Running shoe manufacturers update their shoes so often, I can't figure out if I even like a shoe before they've discontinued it and "upgraded" to the newest version. So the best plan of attack is to quickly figure out if you like the shoe or not, and if so, buy ten pairs.

I went in to Road Runner Sports today to return a pair of shoes that was not even close to being "the one". It didn't make it past a 5 minute trial in my living room. The last time I went in, I was torn between two pairs. I must have run several miles in each on their treadmill to compare the two. The sales lady suggested I get them both. After all, if you buy two, you get ten dollars off the second pair. I wasn't going to fall for that.

I really like (maybe love?) my current pair of shoes, but I'm feeling an inkling of plantar fasciitis, which was creeping up in my left foot long before these shoes, and now is hinting at maybe showing up in my right foot. I've put a little over 100 miles on these shoes so far. I have the option of adding the stupidly expensive insoles that Road Runner also sold me last time (I could've bought that second pair of shoes) to try that out. My feet do not like orthotics. But somewhere there must be a compromise.

Anyway, I went back today to see about exchanging the reject shoes for that second pair I liked last time. Well....they've already phased out, but I can still buy them online.

We sat and discussed the ridiculous situation that is the running shoe industry. She said a couple just came in a few days ago and each bought (each!!!) ten pairs of the Saucony Kinvara's because they knew an "upgrade" was coming and they like the current pair. That adds up to a couple thousand dollars folks. Although if they do a lot of mileage, ten pairs might last them two years. That's not that long.

Fortunately I am not a high mileage runner, so my shoes last a little longer if we're talking about calendar year. But the bad thing about that is that when I decide I love a shoe, it's already gone. And when I say they "upgrade" a shoe, I mean they drastically change something that didn't need to be changed. Just once I would like a shoe company to continue selling the same version for years on end. Why do they have to keep messing with things?

My dilemma is this (and it is ALWAYS this): do I love my current shoe enough to buy several pair? That is committing my feet to hundreds of miles in the same structure of shoe. What if they are actually contributing to my mild plantar fasciitis? What if they are keeping it at bay? (I mean, it was there before and it hasn't really gotten any worse...it just hasn't gone away either.) What if they are perfect for me and I'm squeamish about committing and then they are gone and it's too late?

If you're not a runner, you might wonder how important all of this really is. Well, I will tell you. The wrong shoes can completely sideline you or take you out of running forever. Granted, I am definitely not going down that road right now or I would've known it long before I reached 100 miles on these shoes (I think?). The wrong shoes can steal your dreams of qualifying for the New York Marathon. They can leave you irritable and angry as you desperately try to come up with some sort of swimming exercise that will take away your daily angst like running does. They will make you gain weight as you attempt to eat your way through your injured athlete syndrome with cupcakes and mochi ice cream.

I've been all these places. I know.

Long story short, the wrong running shoes can do catastrophic damage to a runner. Yes, this is serious. And Google had nothing to say on the matter. I am a ship lost at sea.

So I just dropped $175 (after $20 off) on buying both a second pair of my current shoes and a pair of the shoes I tried on last time that I was so torn between.

Sigh. We shall see.