once upon a time, in a faraway land called wisconsin, i worked for a little company called finish line. in what seems like a different lifetime entirely, my favorite part of my job was taking care of customers. customer service is important in most jobs, and especially so in retail. but i mean something beyond just good customer service: i loved connecting one-on-one with customers, learning why they were in the market for running shoes (training for a marathon? starting to work out for the first time since...ever? cross-training? trying to impress a dude at the gym?), and then helping them find the *perfect* pair of shoes. there was nothing more gratifying than knowing they were excited to get healthy (or get a man). i loved seeing people try on different shoes...and when they put on the right ones, their eyes would light up.
man, i must have really liked it if i can look back so fondly on those dark days...
anyway, more than any other type of shoe (and this can be verified by a quick look in my closet), i LOVE running shoes. but i am totally biased. i have been a runner* forever.
my first race in wisconsin was the crazy legs. and i needed shoes. so, although i had already been spending significant portions of my paychecks on lots of [sporty but non-running] shoes at finish line, the first pair that i bought for actual athletic purposes were these:
these are my asics gel-1120s. i got them, and i loved them, and then made every customer try them on after that. they have some gel (but not enough to make them outrageously expensive), great arch support, they breathe well, and they're very light. these are good shoes. and at least two faithful readers of this blog own them because of me.
you are welcome.
i should mention, though, that not everybody has cool shoelaces like this. you only get extra special shoelaces if someone's cat has a bad habit of eating every pair of shoelaces you own. hypothetically speaking, of course.
do you have a favorite pair of running shoes? what is your favorite style of shoe to wear?
*mmm, yeah, ok, i'm very conditional about my running these days. it's mostly when a frisbee is in the air. but still.
