If the shoe fits....buy it

Take one look at me and you clearly see that I am a no frills gal. I love being comfortable.  And just like anyone, I dress up on occasion. Or should I say for an occasion. Weddings, dinner parties and date night. I have in fact gone to some events in jeans and heels. Well, not just jeans and heels. I mean I wore a top.  As if.

Anyway, I think wearing things that make you comfortable also make you feel confident. And confidence is sexy. Amiright?! The cute skirt with the 6 inch stilettos is sexy, don't get me wrong. Comfortable? Not so much for me..  But then again, I prefer comfort to awkward. You don't want to see me in any shoe higher than 3 inches. Trust me on that.

My everyday outfit is running stuff. Shorts if it's hot and a shirt. After my run and shower I switch out of the sweaty gear and into clean gear. Much easier since it requires some effort to pick out non running clothes. Plus it's comfortable.

Man, I suck at coming up with other words besides comfortable.  But what other words are there? Hold on..lemme check. *Googles comfortable* Cozy, snug, warm agreeable, pleasant.. There you go. But still not the same. Let me try a few in a sentence. 'My shorts felt snug. These socks are pleasant. My bed is agreeable '. See what I mean?! Not the same. Different.

Moving along. I will use comfortable many more times in the next few paragraphs. That's your warning.

I am not a shoe whore.  Let me just get that out there. My journey through the soles of many shoes is cause for concern. But I make no apologies. 

To all the shoes I left behind, you are not forgotten:

Nike Shox,  Nike Vomero,  Nike Air,  Mizuno, New Balance WT1010, New Balance WT101, Adidas, Puma, Brooks pure flow, New Balance  Minimus, New Balance WT810, Asics.

Sadly, it took all these tries to finally get it right.

A little over a week before my second half marathon I was shopping on Zappos for my race outfit. My mind was NOT on shoes, I swear! But as it turns out, I got sidetracked.  By.  Shoes.   Thanks to Zappos free next day shipping, my Altra Intuitions were at my doorstep seconds before I was headed out the door for my run. I read the informational and warning booklet quickly : allow time to adjust to zero drop..yada yada yada.  Laced up ... Wow! Preposterous!!  Ridiculous!  Ridiculously preposterous. 

These shoes.

Bloody hell. The voices were back.  #1: Do not even think about wearing those new shoes for your half. #2: What half?   #1: Quit playing. Don't do it. #2: It's only 13.1 miles. You'll be fine. Trust me.  #1: Don't trust anyone who says 'trust me'. Trust me. #2: STFU!        Great. Now my voices are rambling.

Just 2 miles into my half marathon, I was cursing myself. And all the people wearing the shoes they actually trained in. Damn you people for obeying the cardinal rule of new shoes. Damn you! 

I considered quitting. I couldn't imagine going another step, let alone the thousand steps that were yet in front of me. But I did. The whole time my calves were on fire. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

I finished.  And with a PR no less.  But there I was laughing, yes laughing while my calves were screaming. 

Five months have gone by and I have since bought  2 more styles of Altras. Torin and Olympus. I am so in love with my Torins I bought two pair. I rotate the Olympus in with trail runs to keep my body injury free and my feet happy and 'cozy'.

No question that I will be bringing sexy back. To where I dunno.   Comfort = confidence= sexy. (Back- as in gluteus maximus-back)

If the shoe fits, buy it.

If it doesn't, move on. 

But more important, don't wear new shoes on race day.

Thanks for reading. **Bonus. I didn't use the word comfortable again.**
You're welcome !

Next up: I'm going streaking!