Guess what was delivered today — my brand new running shoes! I can hardly wait to take my first run in them. I picture myself running down the road with the speed and stride of a cheetah, springing forward almost effortlessly. Of course the sky will be blue and the warm sun will be on my face as I run harmoniously through nature.
Okay — so I admit that my new running shoes are not going to miraculously transform me into the perfect runner. So what is it about brand-spanking-new shoes that seems so exciting and wonderful? For me at least, I love that they are sparkling clean. There’s absolutely no evidence of a puddle that I ran through, or dust that I kicked up on my last run. New shoes smell wonderful too. I mean, that just can’t be said of my shoes once I’ve worn them even just a few times. Then there’s also the new “look” that they give me. I generally try to buy my shoes at the best price I can find, which means that I don’t always get first pick on the color combination. It’s kind of fun to see how different each pair of shoes makes me feel. Once I bought some bright pink and orange shoes, which seemed almost a little too bright for me at the time. Surprisingly, those shoes ended up being my favorite shoes to date, because their bright color seemed to exude energy into my feet. My new shoes are silver, and I am sure that there must be something magical about them.
I think that the most exciting thing about new shoes is the anticipation of the places that those new shoes are going to take me. I’ve had my last shoes for quite a while now, and I have had many adventures in them. I participated in my first out-of-state triathlon in them, and ran a last-minute half marathon in them too. I even wore them when I trained for a marathon that I never ran. Regardless, I don’t regret the experience of logging those miles and taking those long runs. I learned a lot in those shoes. It’s time to move on though, and my new shoes await. I’ll enjoy these new shoes, their new smell, their new look. But mostly I’ll love the adventures I’ll take.
