A Walk in My Shoes

The other day I decided it was finally time to break down and buy myself some new tennis shoes.  The pair I had been wearing are at least 2-3 years old.  I told Jon that I wanted to actually buy a good pair of tennis shoes and a pair that was made for me.   In the past I would just pick out something that was cheap and looked good.  I feel that I am now at the point where I need a good fitting shoe that is the right type (you know they make them for walking, running, training, etc.)  Our first stop was Sportspectrum.   I was a little nervous before we went in because they have a reputation of being more expensive than the average tennis shoe store, but this is Jon's go to store for shoes so I trusted him.   I told the salesperson what I was there for...tennis shoes, comfortable, to wear to work and that I am on my feet for 12 hours at a time.   So the lady had me walk around the store while she watched me and then proceeded to tell me that I needed a shoe with some "stability" because I tend to pronate (my feet turn in slightly at my arch).  So she then went to the back and came out with quite a few pair of shoes to try on that fit what I needed. Some were too tight on the back, some the arch was too defined, some just were flat out not comfortable. and some were just ugly.  There was one pair that I thought were very comfortable but I wasn't crazy about the look of the shoe.  Well since it was a New Balance shoe, she told me to check out the New Balance store here in town.  She said they would have they same shoe but with different color options. Here is the shoe...

While I was looking around, the husband was too.  He loves shoes, especially tennis shoes.  These wild things caught his eye...

and he just had to have them!  He loves wild colored tennis shoes!  And when the salesperson told him they were on sale...SOLD!   I was wanting some fun shoes too, especially since I didn't find my comfortable, good looking pair of shoes I was in search of.  I stumbled upon these while we were there...

and with my husband's convincing sort of, I bought them!  They do not fit the description of what I wanted or needed.  They don't have the "stability" I need and they are not that good looking, but I guess a little bit of Jon came out in me and I couldn't resist the wild and crazy colors! :)

After Sportspectrum, we headed over to the New Balance store.  I told the guy about the particular shoe I had tried on that I wanted, but that I wanted it in a different color.  Well they had one other color option and it was not catching my eye either.  So while I was there I tried on some other shoes and ended up liking these...

If you can't tell, I don't like my shoes to have much white on them.   I decided on these and we went to check out (not realizing that I had not even asked how much these cost or looked at the price tag).  I almost fainted when he told me the price.  I'm sure it's the average price of a good pair of tennis shoes, but remember, I have always bought cheap kicks.  We left the store and the whole way to the car I'm asking Jon "Do you think they are worth it?  Do you think I should take them back?"   The rest of the day I would get sick to my stomach when I thought about how much I paid for a pair of shoes.   Don't get me wrong, I do love shoes, but I have a hard time paying a lot of money for a pair.   I have decided to keep them and I am still "breaking them in" which is probably my least favorite part of new shoes.   But I can guarantee you I won't buy new tennis shoes for a while! :)

Sorry for such a long post about tennis shoes...I guess I didn't realize I had so much to say about them.