No need for steel toed shoes anymore

"What we really need is for Nike to start making steel-toed tennis shoes for you."
-My mom, when I was little, on the way the way to buy me yet another pair of shoes.

For the entire first 14 years of my life, I wore white Nike tennis shoes almost exclusively. I had some kind of patent leather or loafer shoe for church and dressier occasions, but other than that, I stuck with the shoes I loved. Even in the dead of summer when the heat bears down with such force that even the flowers bow their heavy heads, I wore tennis shoes and socks everywhere I went. This sounds like a fairly easy arrangement for my mom. I like Nikes, she can just buy me a pair when I need one and no big deal. The problem arose with the fact that I was a pretty busy kid and pretty rough on my clothes and shoes. So, she ended up purchasing her share of Nike shoes over the years, dozens of pairs over the years I am sure.

I love tennis shoes, running shoes, cross trainers, you name it. I realized this to a greater degree today as I churned away on the elliptical machine, watching the feet of those lined up in front of me on the treadmills. The woman with the white tee-shirt and red hair, she has the 07 Brooks Trance on. They changed the shoe that year. It used to be a favorite of mine and now no longer works for me. The girl with the hot pink shirt and black baseball hat that is running up in front row, she's got the neutral Brooks Radius on, 08.

As a kid, I did what every self-respecting child does when wearing a new pair of tennis shoes,gleefully turning to face my mom I would say, "Watch how fast I can run in these!" As I took off running at top speed, I smiled with amazement. What a great pair of shoes!

I'll need another new pair of shoes soon, and even though I know it isn't reasonable or true, I secretly hope that each new pair will make me a swifter and more graceful runner and athlete. What I really want more than speed is the thrilling belief of speed, just to get that first sprint in, the one that starts as soon as you step out of the doors of the store and ends at the door of your car in the parking lot.

To feel my heart thumping hard within my chest cavity,and look down at my brilliantly white pair of shoes and turn to whoever is with me declaring, "Wow! Don't these shoes make me fast?"

"Oh yes!" the person would proclaim. "The fastest I have ever seen you!"


(My current pair of shoes, Brooks Radius, now discontinued)