Running line-up

Finding a good pair of running shoes is like watching bad reality television - you get hooked and right when you fall into a comfortable routine, almost to the point where you feel you can't live without it, the company snatches it away.

Thus has been my dilemma with finding a running shoe for almost a year.  Ever since the kind people at Nike decided to do away with my beloved Zoom Elites, I've been struggling to find a replacement.  And I'm sad to report, my luck has been grim. 

Still heartbroken over parting with five years of awesome memories that my Elites and I shared, I did what any runner would do - I bought some rebound shoes.  They were Asics.  They were soft.  I liked.  But after one steamy ten-mile run, my knees felt like I had torn both ACL's.  No pain/No gain?!  Yeah, right.  I threw those suckers into my closet forgot they ever existed. 

Frustrated and exceptionally sore, I did the inevitable - I scoured online websites in hopes of finding some back-ally store that would magically have some of my old Elites in stock.  Elated at the possibility, I went on a Google search frenzy, which ultimately left me with burnt thighs from my overheated laptop and nothing more.

About $600 of my hard-earned money...worth it.

Finally, I surrendered to the fact that finding the right shoe is going to be a trial-and-error ordeal.  And it's going to cost me quite a bit of money.  Hence, my lengthy collection of running shoes.  At my worst, I think that I'm never going to find one that works.  What would I do?  Stop running?  Spend thousands of dollars on new orthotics?  Sigh.

In the meantime, I'll continue my search.  And occasionally, sink my feet into an old pair of Elites for a short run, if only just to remember how amazing they feel.  Because, truth be told, there are some relationships that we can never quite tear ourselves apart from.